System and method for underground wireless sensor communication

ABSTRACT

A sensor system for collecting data regarding sub-surface material characteristics may include a multitude of sensor nodes, a data gateway, and a controller. Each sensor node may include a power supply and a communication device and the multitude of sensor nodes may include sensors distributed between underground sensor nodes and/or partially-exposed sensor nodes to collect data regarding sub-surface material characteristics. The data gateway may be coupled with any combination of the sensor nodes through wireless transmission data pathways and may receive and store at least some of the data collected by the one or more sensors. The controller may receive the data generated by the one or more sensors from the data gateway and display at least a portion of the data.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims priority to the benefit of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/215,261 filed Dec. 10, 2018 entitled SYSTEM ANDMETHOD FOR UNDERGROUND WIRELESS SENSOR COMMUNICATION, which claimspriority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/596,444, filed Dec.8, 2017, entitled COMMUNICATIONS AND DATA PLATFORM FOR UNDERGROUNDWIRELESS SENSOR, naming Brant Burkey, Steve R. Tippery, Tim Adkins, andJochen Pfrenger as inventors, which is incorporated herein by referencein the entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention generally relates to material sensors, and, moreparticularly, to a system of sub-surface material sensors.

BACKGROUND

In a wide range of industries, from agricultural industries, turf careindustries, to construction and commodity storing industries, it may bedesirable to determine characteristics of a material not only on thesurface of the material, but below the surface as well. Accordingly,buried and/or sub-surface sensors are sometimes used to obtain one ormore measurements regarding sub-surface characteristics and conditions.These sub-surface sensors may be desirable when obtaining measurementsof sub-surface characteristics is not otherwise feasible and/or easilyconducted. However, previous sub-surface sensor systems have faced anumber of limitations and drawbacks.

First, the range of effective data transmission may be decreased whentransmitting data through a material or medium, such as soil.Accordingly, previous sub-surface sensor systems typically utilizesub-surface sensors which are installed with a wired component which isat least partially above ground in order to overcome data transmissionand power supply issues. However, above-ground sensor components run therisk of interfering with above-ground operations (e.g., planting,tilling, spraying, harvesting, and the like) and damaging equipment(e.g., harvesting equipment, irrigation equipment, spraying equipment,and the like), which result in expensive equipment damage.

Second, sub-surface sensors have previously only been able to beutilized in temporary applications (e.g., applications typically lastingless than one year) or semi-permanent applications (e.g., applicationstypically lasting 2-3 years or less). Operational requirements, such asenergy supply requirements and sensor durability characteristics, resultin previous sub-surface sensors to be incompatible with permanentapplications in seasonal crop applications such as corn, soybeans,wheat, etc. As such, previous sub-surface sensor systems require thesub-surface sensors to be removed on a regular, seasonal, orsemi-regular basis.

Similarly, sub-surface sensors currently run the risk of being damagedduring field operations. Accordingly, current sub-surface sensors mustbe removed from the ground not only for power supply limitations, but toavoid being damaged during field operations. For example, a sub-surfacesensor may have to be placed in the ground after tillage and plantingoperations, but removed before harvesting operations in order to avoidbeing damaged during the course of the operations. This periodic cycleof sub-surface sensor installation and removal results in high annuallabor installation and removal costs.

Furthermore, previous sub-surface sensor systems communicatively coupleeach of the sub-surface sensors to a data processing or communicationsmodule. This connectivity configuration results in high, recurring datatransmission costs. These previous configurations result in high unitcosts per each sub-surface sensor, leading to high system costs whichpose barriers-to-entry to individuals and businesses who would otherwiseinstall more valuable remote sensing equipment. Furthermore, using thisconfiguration, there is no way to increase the number of sub-surfacesensors within the system without also increasing the cost of recurringdata transmission.

Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a system and method whichcure one or more of the shortfalls of the previous approaches identifiedabove.

SUMMARY

A system is disclosed in accordance with one or more illustrativeembodiments of the present disclosure. In one illustrative embodiment,the system includes a multitude of sensor nodes, each sensor nodeincluding a power supply and a communication device. In anotherillustrative embodiment, the multitude of sensor nodes includes one ormore underground sensor nodes positioned below the surface of a materialdistributed between any combination of partially-exposed sensor nodes orunderground sensor nodes. In another illustrative embodiment, the systemincludes a data gateway communicatively coupled to at least some of thesensor nodes via one or more wireless transmission pathways, where thedata gateway receives and stores the data collected by the sensors. Inanother illustrative embodiment, the system includes a controller toreceive the data from the sensors from the data gateway and display atleast a portion of the data associated with at least one of the one ormore sub-surface material characteristics.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory onlyand are not necessarily restrictive of the invention as claimed. Theaccompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a partof the specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention andtogether with the general description, serve to explain the principlesof the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The numerous advantages of the disclosure may be better understood bythose skilled in the art by reference to the accompanying figures inwhich:

FIG. 1A illustrates a simplified block diagram of a sub-surface sensorsystem, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 1B illustrates a simplified block diagram of a simplified blockdiagram of a sub-surface sensor system, in accordance with one or moreembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 1C illustrates a simplified block diagram of a sub-surface sensorsystem, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 1D illustrates a simplified block diagram of a sub-surface sensorsystem, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic view of a sub-surface sensor system, inaccordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3A illustrates a simplified block diagram of a sensor node, inaccordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3B illustrates a simplified block diagram of a sensor node, inaccordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates a conceptual diagram of a sensor node, in accordancewith one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 illustrates an installation depth chart of sensor nodes, inaccordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6A illustrates an exploded view of a sensor node, in accordancewith one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6B illustrates an exploded view of a sensor node, in accordancewith one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6C illustrates a perspective view of a sensor node, in accordancewith one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6D illustrates an exploded view of a sensor node integrated with anadditional sensor device, in accordance with one or more embodiments ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 6E illustrates a perspective view of a sensor node integrated withan additional sensor device, in accordance with one or more embodimentsof the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 illustrates components of a sensor node disposed on a printedcircuit board, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 8 illustrates cross-sectional view of a printed circuit board withcomponents of a sensor node disposed within a sensor node body, inaccordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 illustrates a simplified view of an electrical circuit of a powersupply for a sensor node, in accordance with one or more embodiments ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 10 illustrates a simplified view of an electrical circuit of acapacitive moisture probe;

FIG. 11 illustrates a simplified view of an electrical circuit of acapacitive moisture probe for a moisture sensor of a sensor node, inaccordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 illustrates a simplified view of an electrical circuit of acapacitive moisture probe for a moisture sensor of a sensor node, inaccordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 13 depicts a graph illustrating a resonant frequency of acapacitive probe in a material with zero moisture level, in accordancewith one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 14 depicts a graph illustrating a resonant frequency of acapacitive probe in a material with a non-zero moisture level, inaccordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 15 illustrates a flowchart of a method for collecting dataassociated with one or more sub-surface characteristics of a material,in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure has been particularly shown and described withrespect to certain embodiments and specific features thereof. Theembodiments set forth herein are taken to be illustrative rather thanlimiting. It should be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill inthe art that various changes and modifications in form and detail may bemade without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

Buried and/or submerged sensors are sometimes used to obtain one or moremeasurements regarding sub-surface material characteristics, such assub-surface moisture levels, temperature, and/or chemicalcharacteristics. However, previous sub-surface sensor systems havesuffered from a number of limitations. Previous sub-surface sensorsystems typically utilize sub-surface sensors which are installed with awired component which is at least partially above ground in order toovercome power supply issues and difficulties in data transmissionthrough ground. For example, previous sub-surface sensors are typicallywired to an above-ground power supply. Above-ground power supplies mayinclude solar panels, wind turbines, electrical generators, and/orbatteries. The power supplies of the sub-surface sensors are typicallyinstalled above ground so that the power supplies may be easily repairedand/or replaced. Furthermore, current sub-surface sensors requiresignificant power outputs and exhibit high power consumptions, causingthem to require large power supplies. These above-ground sensorcomponents and power supplies run the risk of interfering withabove-ground operations (e.g., planting, tilling, spraying, irrigating,harvesting, and the like), as well as damaging equipment (e.g.,harvesting equipment, irrigation equipment, spraying equipment, and thelike).

Another limitation of previous sub-surface sensor systems is therequired periodic installation and removal of each sub-surface sensor.Previously, there has been no efficient method of providing power tosub-surface sensors which does not also interfere with above-groundoperations. Furthermore, sub-surface sensors currently run the risk ofbeing damaged during field operations. These two limitations, takentogether, result in sub-surface sensors to be compatible with onlytemporary or semi-permanent applications. For example, currentsub-surface sensors may have to be periodically removed in order to berepaired and/or charged. Additionally, current sub-surface sensors mustbe removed to avoid being damaged during field operations, such asplanting, tilling, spraying, irrigating, and harvesting operations. Thisperiodic cycle of sub-surface sensor installation and removal results inhigh annual labor costs. In this same regard, extended periods of timeas well as lost or missing location markers often cause difficulties inlocating and removing sub-surface sensors. These difficulties may be theresult of field operations, earth movements, flooding, and the like. Notonly do these difficulties further increase annual labor costs, but lostsub-surface sensors, including batteries, may pose environmentalconcerns if they are not removed from the ground.

Furthermore, previous sub-surface sensor systems often communicativelycouple each of the sub-surface sensors to a data processing orcommunications module. This is partially due to the limited capabilityof current sub-surface sensor systems to effectively penetrate soil andother biomass in order to transmit data below ground. This connectivityconfiguration results in high, recurring data transmission costs. Theseprevious configurations result in high unit costs per each sub-surfacesensor, leading to extremely high system costs which posebarriers-to-entry to would-be entrants. Furthermore, using thisconfiguration, there is no way to increase the number of sub-surfacesensors within the system without also increasing the cost of recurringdata transmission.

Accordingly, embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to asystem of sub-surface sensors which utilize one or more sensor nodes tocommunicatively couple the sub-surface sensor nodes to an above-grounddata gateway. Additional embodiments of the present disclosure aredirected to a system which utilizes wireless data transmission totransmit data below ground between sub-surface sensor nodes. Additionalembodiments of the present disclosure are directed to the use of a datagateway configured to communicatively couple to a subset of sub-surfacesensors of a plurality of sub-surface sensors in order to reducerecurring data transmission costs. Further embodiments of the presentdisclosure are directed to capacitive probes to more efficiently andeffectively measure sub-surface moisture levels in a sub-surface sensornode system.

Reference will now be made in detail to the subject matter disclosed,which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

Referring generally to FIGS. 1A-15, a system and method for collectingdata associated with one or more sub-surface characteristics of amaterial are disclosed, in accordance with one or more embodiments ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 1A illustrates a simplified block diagram of a sub-surface sensorsystem 100, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure. System 100 may include, but is not limited to, one or moresensor nodes 102, a data gateway 104, a network 106, a server 108, acontroller 114, and a user interface 120.

In one embodiment, the one or more sensor nodes 102 may be positionedbelow the surface 101 of a material and configured to measure and/orcollect data regarding one or more sub-surface material characteristics.For example, as shown in FIG. 1A, sensor nodes 102 a, 102 b, 102 c, 102d, 102 e, and 102 f may be positioned under the surface 101 of theground (e.g., buried within the soil). The one or more sub-surfacematerial characteristics may include, but are not limited to, moisturelevels, electroconductivity levels, temperatures, chemical compositions,pressures, nutrient levels, and the like. For example, system 100 may beimplemented in an agricultural setting, in which the one or moresub-surface sensor nodes 102 are buried within agricultural fields andconfigured to measure sub-surface soil characteristics, including soilmoisture levels, soil electroconductivity levels, soil temperatures,nutrient levels, gases, particulate constituents, biological pathogens,pH, and the like.

As will be described in further detail herein, it is contemplated hereinthat the sensor nodes 102 of the present disclosure may be implementedin a wide variety of contexts, and may be used to measure sub-surfacecharacteristics of any material. For example, sensor nodes 102 may beconfigured to measure sub-surface material characteristics of soil,liquids (e.g., water, oil, liquid fertilizer), volumes of commodities(e.g., potatoes, corn, grain, wheat, and the like), biomass, landfillmaterial, concrete, bulk storage materials (e.g., dry fertilizer, salt,sand, gravel, and the like) and the like. In this regard, althoughsystem 100 may be described as being implemented in an agriculturalcontext, this is solely for illustrative purposes, and is not to beregarded as a limitation of the present disclosure, unless notedotherwise herein.

It is contemplated herein that the sub-surface sensor nodes (e.g.,sensor nodes 102 a, 102 b, 102 c, 102 d, 102 e, and 102 f) may bepositioned below the surface 101 a sufficient depth in order to avoidbeing damaged by equipment or operations, such as tilling equipment,planting equipment, harvesting equipment, and the like. In this regard,sensor nodes 102 may be installed below relevant operating depths ofequipment which may be operating within the same area as system 100. Itis further contemplated herein that the sub-surface sensor nodes 102a-102 f may be positioned below the surface 101 at a depth which allowsfor reliable data transmission to components above the surface 101 ofthe material (e.g., sensor nodes 102 g, 102 h, data gateway 104, and thelike).

For the purposes of the present disclosure, sensor nodes 102 which arepositioned completely below the surface 101 of a material (e.g., sensornodes 102 a-102 f) may be referred to as “sub-surface sensor nodes 102.”Conversely, sensor nodes 102 which are positioned partially orcompletely above the surface 101 of a material (e.g., sensor nodes 102g, 102 h) may be referred to as “surface sensor nodes 102.”

In another embodiment, the one or more sub-surface sensor nodes 102a-102 f may be configured to store collected data in memory. In anotherembodiment, the one or more sub-surface sensor nodes 102 a-102 f may beconfigured to transmit collected and stored data to an additional sensornode 102. For example, as shown in FIG. 1A, sub-surface sensor nodes 102a, 102 b, 102 c and sub-surface sensor nodes 102 d, 102 e, 102 f may beconfigured to transmit collected and stored data to sensor node 102 gand sensor node 102 h, respectively. The sub-surface sensor nodes 102a-102 f may be configured to transmit data to surface sensor nodes 102g, 102 h using any type of wireless communication technique known in theart including, but not limited to, radio frequency (RF) protocols,Bluetooth protocols, GSM, GPRS, DCMA, EV-DO, EDGE, WiMAX, 4G, 4G LTE,5G, 6G, WiFi protocols, RF, LoRa, and the like. By way of anotherexample, sub-surface sensor nodes 102 a-102 f may be configured totransmit data to surface sensor nodes 102 g, 102 h using ZigBee, SigFox,NB-IOT, and the like.

For example, sub-surface sensor nodes 102 a-102 f may be configured totransmit data to surface sensor nodes 102 g, 102 h using LoRa. LoRawireless radio technology is often used to transmit small amounts ofdata over longer distances. It is noted herein that LoRa radiotechnology has been found to provide reliable long-distance datatransmission even in conditions which would ordinarily pose issues usingother data transmission techniques. For instance, agricultural cropcanopies, such as corn, may strongly absorb radio waves, leading to poorRF transmission in such conditions. On the other hand, LoRa has beenfound to provide reliable long-distance transmissions in suchconditions. These characteristics of LoRa may make LoRa a good candidatefor data transmission in sub-surface environments, such as system 100.However, it is noted herein that LoRa wireless radio technology is oftenused to transmit small amounts of data over longer distances, but may beinappropriate to wirelessly transmit large amounts of data. As such,alternative wireless data transmission techniques may be required insystems which require large amounts of data transmission.

In another embodiment, surface sensor node 102 g and surface sensor node102 h may be configured to store data received by sub-surface sensornodes 102 a, 102 b, 102 c, and sub-surface sensor nodes 102 d, 102 e,and 102 f, respectively. Furthermore, surface sensor nodes 102 g, 102 hmay be configured to measure and/or collect data regarding one or moresub-surface material characteristics.

As noted previously herein, the wireless data transmission below groundmay be limited by technical and environmental factors. The efficiencyand range of wireless data transmission may be significantly decreasedwhen transmitting data below the surface of a material. Particularly, itis noted herein that radio and other waves may be absorbed by biomass,such as soil, crops, foliage, and the like. Furthermore, sub-surfacematerial may obstruct the efficient transmission of data. In thisregard, in another embodiment, surface sensor nodes 102 g, 102 h may bepositioned such that at least a portion of the surface sensor nodes 102g, 102 h is positioned above the surface 101 of the material. Bypositioning at least a portion of surface sensor nodes 102 g, 102 habove the surface 101 of the material, the effective data transmissionrange of sensor nodes 102 g, 102 h may be significantly improved. It isfurther noted herein that the ability of surface sensor nodes 102 g, 102h to receive, store, and transmit data collected by the sub-surfacesensor nodes 102 a-102 f (e.g., “store-and-forward”) may allow thesurface sensor nodes 102 g, 102 h to effectively increase the datatransmission range of the sub-surface sensor nodes 102 a-102 f. For thepurposes of the present disclosure, the sensor nodes 102 g, 102 h may besaid to function as “repeaters” and/or “store-and-forward sensor nodes”in that they are configured to receive data from other sensor nodes 102,store the received data, and transmit the stored data to othercomponents in system 100.

In one embodiment, sensor nodes 102 g, 102 h are configured to transmitstored data to data gateway 104. The sensor nodes 102 g, 102 h may becommunicatively coupled to data gateway 104 using any wired or wirelesscommunication technique known in the art including, but not limited to,ZigBee, SigFox, NB-IOT, radio frequency (RF) protocols, Bluetoothprotocols, GSM, GPRS, DCMA, EV-DO, EDGE, WiMAX, 4G, 4G LTE, 5G, 6G, WiFiprotocols, RF, LoRa, and the like.

It is noted herein that the configuration of system 100 with one or moresub-surface sensor nodes 102 (e.g., sensor nodes 102 a-102 f)transmitting collected and stored data to one or more surface sensornodes 102 (e.g., sensor nodes 102 g, 102 h) may provide a number ofadvantages over prior approaches. First and foremost, transmitting datafrom sub-surface sensor nodes 102 a-102 f to surface sensor nodes 102 g,102 h may effectively increase the data transmission range of thesub-surface sensor nodes 102 a-102 f. Secondly, embodiments whichutilize multiple sub-surface sensor nodes 102 to each surface sensornode 102 g, 102 h may minimize the amount of equipment and componentswhich may be susceptible to damage by above-ground operations. Forexample, by minimizing the number of surface sensor nodes 102 g, 102 h,system 100 may effectively minimize the number of surface sensor nodes102 g, 102 h which may be damaged by planting equipment, tillingequipment, irrigation equipment, spraying equipment, harvestingequipment, and the like. By burying sub-surface sensor nodes 102 a-102 fbelow the surface 101 a sufficient depth, system 100 may effectivelyreduce the amount of equipment which is susceptible to damage throughordinary operations.

An additional advantage associated with system 100 is the reduction inthe amount of above-ground equipment, and therefore the reduction ofannual labor costs. As noted previously herein, above-ground componentsmay have to be removed before various operations can take place. Forexample, above-ground sensors may have to be removed prior to tilling,planting, and harvesting operations. However, utilizing system 100, thenumber of components (e.g., surface sensor nodes 102 g, 102 h) which arepositioned above the surface 101 may be minimized, thereby minimizingthe number of components which must be removed prior to operations on aregular or semi-regular basis. This reduction may be translated intofewer man hours required to remove equipment prior to operations, lowerinstallation and removal costs, and thus lower annual labor costs. Thiseffectively reduces the annual operating cost of each individual sensornode 102.

Another advantage provided by the configuration of system 100 is thereduction of recurring data transmission costs. As noted previouslyherein, previous systems communicatively couple each sub-surface sensordirectly to a data processing or communications module. This repetitivedata transmission results in recurring and repetitive data transmissioncosts. By communicatively coupling a subset of sensor nodes 102 ofsystem 100 to the data gateway 104 (e.g., sensor nodes 102 g, 102 h),wherein the subset of sensor nodes 102 are communicatively coupled toadditional sensor nodes 102 (e.g., sub-surface sensor nodes 102 a-102f), system 100 may effectively reduce recurring data transmission costsassociated with transmitting data to the data gateway 104 and network106.

The ability of surface sensor nodes 102 g, 102 h to receive and storedata from sub-surface sensor nodes 102 a-102 f may also improve overalldata transmission efficiency. For example, obstructions or environmentalconditions, such as rain, snow, construction equipment, farmingequipment, and the like, may impair the data transmission efficiencybetween the surface sensor nodes 102 g, 102 h and the data gateway 104.In this regard, when the surface sensor nodes 102 g, 102 h are out ofrange from the data gateway 104 or otherwise unable to transmit data tothe data gateway 104, the surface sensor nodes 102 g, 102 h may beconfigured to store in memory data collected by the surface sensor nodes102 g, 102 h and data received from the sub-surface sensor nodes 102a-102 f. When the data gateway 104 is in range or the surface sensornodes 102 g, 102 h are otherwise able to transmit data efficiently, thesurface sensor nodes 102 g, 102 h may be configured to transmit the datastored in memory.

In an additional and/or alternative embodiment, sensor nodes 102 g, 102h may comprise only store-and-forward components. For example, sensornodes 102 g, 102 h may be configured to receive data collected by sensornodes 102 a-102 f, store received data, and forward stored data to thedata gateway 104. In this example, sensor nodes 102 g, 102 h may notinclude any sensors which are configured to cause sensor nodes 120 g,102 h to collect data on their own.

In another embodiment, the data gateway 104 of system 100 is configuredto receive data from one or more sensor nodes 102 (e.g., sensor node 102g, 102 h) and store the data in memory. In another embodiment, the datagateway 104 may be configured to transmit received and stored data to anetwork 106. As noted previously, the data gateway 104 may be configuredto store data in memory when the data gateway 104 is unable to transmitdata, and subsequently transmit the stored data when the data gateway104 becomes communicatively coupled to network 106. The data gateway 104may be configured to transmit data to network 106 using any type ofwireless communication technique known in the art including, but notlimited to, radio frequency (RF) protocols, Bluetooth protocols, GSM,GPRS, DCMA, EV-DO, EDGE, WiMAX, 4G, 4G LTE, 5G, 6G, WiFi protocols, RF,LoRa, and the like. In this regard, data gateway 104 may include anynetwork interface known in the art configured to communicatively couplethe data gateway 104 to the network 106. In one embodiment, network 106may comprise a cloud-based network configuration.

In another embodiment, the network 106 is configured to transmit datareceived from the sensor nodes 102 to a server 108. The server 108 mayinclude one or more processors 110 and a memory 112. It is contemplatedherein that the server 108 may comprise a remote server configured tocarry out one or more of the steps of the present disclosure. In oneembodiment, server 108 may include a cloud-based computing platformincluding, but not limited to, Amazon Web Services (AWS). In oneembodiment, one or more processors 110 of server 108 may be configuredto store the received data in memory 112. The one or more processors 110may be further configured to execute a set of program instructionsstored in memory 112, the program instructions configured to cause theone or more processors 110 to carry out one or more steps of the presentdisclosure.

For example, the data collected by the sensor nodes 102 may betransmitted to server 108 via network 106. The one or more processors110 may be configured to time-stamp and store received data in memory112. The one or more processors 110 may be further configured to filterand sort stored data. The one or more processors 110 may be furtherconfigured to perform one or more operations on received and storeddata. For example, as will be discussed in greater detail herein, thesensor nodes 102 may include capacitive moisture sensors which measurematerial moisture levels based on calculated capacitance levels. In thisregard, the one or more processors 110 may be configured to receivecapacitance level readings from the sensor nodes 102 and calculatematerial moisture levels based on the received capacitance levelreadings. The one or more processors 110 may then be further configuredto store calculated moisture levels in memory 112.

In another embodiment, system 100 includes a controller 114communicatively coupled to the server 108 via network 106. Thecontroller 114 may be configured to receive data collected by the sensornodes 102 via the network 106. The controller 114 may be furtherconfigured to receive data generated and/or stored by the server 108 vianetwork 106. In this regard, the controller 114 may include a networkinterface configured to communicatively couple the controller 114 to thenetwork 106. In one embodiment, the controller 114 includes one or moreprocessors 116 and a memory 118. In another embodiment, the one or moreprocessors 116 may be configured to execute a set of programinstructions stored in memory 118, wherein the set of programinstructions are configured to cause the one or more processors 116 tocarry out the steps of the present disclosure.

For example, the data collected by the sensor nodes 102 may betransmitted to controller 114 via network 106. The one or moreprocessors 116 may be configured to time-stamp and store received datain memory 118. The one or more processors 116 may be further configuredto filter and sort stored data. The one or more processors 116 may befurther configured to perform one or more operations on received andstored data. It is noted herein that the discussion herein regardingserver 108, one or more processors 110, and memory 112 may also beregarded as applying to controller 114, one or more processors 116, andmemory 118, unless noted otherwise herein. In this regard, any steps offunctions carried out by the server 108 may additionally and/oralternatively be carried out by the controller 114, unless notedotherwise herein.

It is further noted herein that the one or more components of system 100may be communicatively coupled to the various other components of system100 in any manner known in the art. For example, the server 108,controller 114, one or more processors 110, 116, and memory 112, 118 maybe communicatively coupled to each other and other components via awireline (e.g., copper wire, fiber optic cable, and the like) orwireless connection (e.g., RF coupling, IR coupling, data networkcommunication (e.g., WiFi, WiMax, Bluetooth, 3G, 4G, 4G LTE, 5G, 6G, andthe like).

In one embodiment, system 100 may include a user interface 120communicatively coupled to the controller 114. In one embodiment, theuser interface 120 includes a display 122 used to display data of thesystem 100 to a user. The display 122 of the user interface 120 mayinclude any display known in the art. For example, the display mayinclude, but is not limited to, a liquid crystal display (LCD), anorganic light-emitting diode (OLED) based display, or a CRT display.Those skilled in the art should recognize that any display 122 devicecapable of integration with a user interface 120 is suitable forimplementation in the present disclosure. In another embodiment, a usermay input selections and/or instructions responsive to data displayed tothe user via the user interface 120.

In another embodiment, the user interface 120 may include, but is notlimited to, one or more desktops, laptops, tablets, smartphones, smartwatches, or the like. In one embodiment, a user may use the userinterface 120 in order to view data collected by the sensor nodes 102,generated by the one or more processors 110, 116, or stored in memory112, 118. In another embodiment, the user interface 120 may beconfigured one or more input commands from a user, wherein the one ormore input commands are configured to cause one or more processors toadjust one or more characteristics of system 100.

For example, one or more processors 110, 116 may be configured totransmit one or more alerts to a user, wherein the user interface 120 isconfigured to display the one or more alerts to the user via the display122. For example, the one or more processors 110, 116 may be configuredto transmit one or more alerts to a user indicating a low moisture levelin a section of a field. The one or more alerts generated by system 100and displayed via display 122 may include any alert known in the artincluding, but not limited to, automated phone calls, text messages,emails, application notifications, banners, push notifications, and thelike.

By way of another example, a farm owner may desire to view temperaturesand moisture levels of the soil at various points throughout the farm.It is noted herein that the ability to view soil characteristics (e.g.,temperature, moisture levels, electroconductivity levels, and the like)at various points throughout a farm may allow a farm owner or operatorto adjust one or more farm characteristics or farming operatingparameters in order to more effectively and efficiently operate thefarm. For instance, based on moisture levels collected, stored, anddisplayed to a farm owner via display 122, a farm owner may be able tomodify irrigation times, irrigation volumes, fertilizer types, and thelike in order to optimize crop growth.

FIG. 1D illustrates a simplified block diagram of a sub-surface sensorsystem 100, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure. System 100 may include, but is not limited to, one or moresensor nodes 102, a data gateway 104, a network 106, a server 108, acontroller 114, a user interface 120, and one or more operationaldevices 142.

In another embodiment, the one or more processors 110 of the server 108and/or the one or more processors 116 of the controller 114 areconfigured to transmit one or more signals to the data gateway 104and/or the sensor nodes 102 via the network 106. It is contemplatedherein that the ability to transmit signals from the sensor nodes 102 tothe server 108/controller 114, as well as transmit signals from theserver 108/controller 114 to the sensor nodes 102 (e.g., bi-directionalcommunication) may provide a number of advantages over previousapproaches. For example, by transmitting signals from the server 108and/or controller 114 to the sensor nodes 102, the sensor nodes 102 maybe remotely adjusted, re-configured, and the like. By way of anotherexample, it is contemplated herein that one or more signals transmittedfrom the server 108 and/or controller 114 may be configured to updatesoftware or firmware of the data gateway 104 and/or sensor nodes 102.

It is contemplated herein that system 100 may include one or moreoperational devices which may be manually and/or automatically adjustedby the one or more processors 110, 116 in response to data collected bythe system 100. The one or more operational devices 142 may include anyoperation or application devices known in the art including, but notlimited to, irrigation equipment/devices, spraying devices, sprinklers,drip lines, fans, heaters, drying equipment, fertilization equipment,chemical distribution equipment, pumps, valves, and the like. Forinstance, continuing with the example above, system 100 may includeirrigation equipment (e.g., operational equipment 142 a-142 c)communicatively coupled to the server 108 and/or controller 114. Theirrigation equipment (e.g., operational equipment 142 a-142 c) may becommunicatively coupled to the server 110 and/or controller 114 usingany technique known in the art. In this example, the one or moreprocessors 110, 116 may be configured to automatically adjust one ormore characteristics of the irrigation equipment (e.g., operationalequipment 142 a-142 c) based on data collected by system 100. Forinstance, if data collected by the sensor nodes 102 indicate aparticular section of a field has low moisture levels, the one or moreprocessors 110, 116 may be configured to increase the irrigationdurations, adjust the irrigation timing schedule, adjust the orientationof the operational equipment 142 a-142 c and the like.

By way of another example, system 100 may be implemented in a commoditystorage context, with a plurality of sensor nodes 102 configured tocollect data regarding sub-surface commodity characteristics. In thisexample, system 100 may further include operational equipment 142 a-142c comprising drying equipment (e.g., fans, heaters, and the like)configured to regulate moisture levels of the commodities. The dryingequipment (e.g., operational equipment 142 a-142 c) may becommunicatively coupled to the server 108 and/or controller 114 usingany technique known in the art. In this example, the one or moreprocessors 110, 116 may be configured to automatically adjust one ormore characteristics of the drying equipment (e.g., operationalequipment 142 a-142 c) based on data collected by system 100. Forinstance, if data collected by the sensor nodes 102 indicate thecommodities have high moisture levels, the one or more processors 110,116 may be configured to increase fan speed or heating rate of thedrying equipment (e.g., operational equipment 142 a-142 c).

By way of another example, system 100 may be implemented in the contextof a golf course of turf management operation. In this example, system100 may include operational equipment 142 a-142 c comprising sprinklers,drip lines, or the like, which are configured to regulate moisturelevels, nutrient levels, and the like of the grass. The operationalequipment 142 a-142 c (e.g., sprinklers, drip lines, and the like) maybe communicatively coupled to the server 108 and/or controller 114 usingany technique known in the art. In this example, the one or moreprocessors 110, 116 may be configured to automatically adjust one ormore characteristics of the operational equipment 142 a-142 c based ondata collected by system 100. For instance, if data collected by thesensor nodes 102 indicate the high moisture levels, the one or moreprocessors 110, 116 may be configured to transmit one or more signals tothe operational equipment 142 a-142 c in order to adjust one or morecharacteristics of the turf care equipment including, but not limitedto, duration of watering, frequency of watering, and the like.

It is noted herein that the one or more processors 110, 116 may beconfigured to transmit signals to equipment of system 100 eitherautomatically or in response to a user input. For example, upondetermining low moisture levels, the one or more processors 110, 116 maybe configured to automatically transmit one or more signals to equipment(e.g., irrigation equipment, drip lines, and the like) in order tocorrect for the low moisture levels. By way of another example, a usermay input one or more input commands via user interface 120, wherein theone or more input commands cause the one or more processors 110, 116 totransmit one or more signals to equipment of system 100.

It is further noted herein that embodiments in which controller 114comprises a local controller may allow for data transmission andoperational device 142 control even without an internet connection. Forexample, the data gateway 104 may be directly coupled to the controller114 via a wired or wireless connection. In this example, the controller114 may be configured to receive data from sensor nodes 102 and/ortransmit signals to sensor nodes 102 and operational equipment 142without the use of an internet or network connection.

FIG. 1B illustrates a simplified block diagram of a simplified blockdiagram of a sub-surface sensor system 100, in accordance with one ormore embodiments of the present disclosure. It is noted herein that thedescription associated with system 100 depicted in FIG. 1A may beregarded as applying to system 100 depicted in FIG. 1B, unless notedotherwise herein. Similarly, the following description associated withsystem 100 depicted in FIG. 1B may be regarded as applying to system 100depicted in FIG. 1A, unless noted otherwise herein.

In one embodiment, sub-surface sensor nodes 102 a, 102 b, 102 c, mayconfigured to collect data and “store-and-forward” collected data toadditional sub-surface sensor nodes 102 a, 102 b, 102 c. In this regard,sub-surface sensor nodes 102 a-102 c may be regarded as “repeater” or“store-and-forward” sub-surface sensor nodes 102 a-102 c. For example,as shown in FIG. 1B, a first sub-surface sensor node 102 a may beconfigured to collect data, store data in memory, and transmitcollected/stored data to a second sub-surface sensor device 102 b. Thesecond sub-surface sensor device 102 b may be configured to receive datafrom the first sub-surface sensor device 102 a, and store received datain memory. Additionally, the second sub-surface sensor device 102 b maybe configured to collect data itself and store collected data in memory.The second sub-surface sensor device 102 b may then be configured totransmit collected data (e.g., data collected by the second sub-surfacesensor device 102 b and data received from the first sub-surface sensordevice 102 a) and transmit stored data to a third sub-surface sensordevice 102 c. Similarly, the third sub-surface sensor device 102 c and afourth sub-surface sensor device 102 d may be configured to collect dataon their own, receive data from the previous sub-surface sensor devices102, store collected and received data in memory, and transmit storeddata along to the data gateway 104.

It is noted herein that the ability of sub-surface sensor devices 102a-102 c to repeat or store-and-forward collected and received data toadditional sub-surface sensor devices 102 may increase the overalleffective data transmission range of the sub-surface sensor devices 102.For example, it is contemplated herein that sub-surface sensor nodes 102may be capable of reliably transmitting data to surface-sensor nodes 102d within a 100-500-foot radius. In this regard, without any “repeating”or “store-and-forward” capabilities each sub-surface sensor node 102a-102 c would have to be within 100-500 feet of a surface sensor node102 d. However, with the store-and-forward configuration illustrated inFIG. 1B, it is contemplated that the effective data transmission rangemay be extended to multiple-mile transmission distances. Furthermore, itis noted herein that the store-and-forward configuration illustrated inFIG. 1B may further reduce the redundant data transmission costs. Byincluding multiple sub-surface sensor nodes 102 a-102 c which transmitdata to a single surface sensor node 102 d which is communicativelycoupled to the data gateway 104, recurring data transmission costs maybe reduced as compared to a configuration in which each sensor node 102transmits data directly to the data gateway 104.

In another embodiment, sub-surface sensor nodes 102 may be configured totransmit data directly to the data gateway 104. For example, as shown inFIG. 1B, sub-surface sensor nodes 102 e, 102 f may be configured totransmit data directly to the data gateway 104. It is contemplatedherein that sub-surface sensor nodes 102 which are within an effectivedata transmission radius (e.g., “within range”) of the data gateway 104may be configured to transmit data directly to the data gateway 104. Forinstance, sub-surface sensor nodes 102 e, 102 f within a quarter of amile from the data gateway 104 may be configured to transmit datadirectly to the data gateway 104. Conversely, it is contemplated hereinthat sub-surface sensor nodes 102 outside of the effective datatransmission radius of the gateway 104 (e.g., sub-surface sensor nodes102 further than a quarter of a mile from the data gateway 104) may beout of range from the data gateway 104, and may have to transmit data toone or more sensor nodes 102 until the data may be transmitted to thedata gateway 104.

It is contemplated herein that varying weather conditions, materialconditions (e.g., soil conditions), and the like, may cause sensor nodes102 which were within range of another sensor node 102 or data gateway104 to subsequently be out of range, and vis versa. For example,referring to FIG. 1B, sub-surface sensor node 102 f may be within aneffective data transmission range of the data gateway 104, and maytherefore typically transmit data directly to the data gateway 104.Inclement weather conditions or soil conditions may subsequently affectthe range of data transmission, effectively constricting the effectivedata transmission range and putting the sub-surface sensor node 102 fout of range of the data gateway 104. In this example, when thesub-surface sensor node 102 f is out of range or otherwise unable totransmit data directly to the data gateway 104, the sub-surface sensornode 102 f may be configured to store collected data in memory until atime which the sub-surface sensor node 102 f is back within range or isotherwise able to transmit data directly to the data gateway 104. In anadditional and/or alternative embodiment, when the sub-surface sensornode 102 f is out of range or otherwise unable to transmit data directlyto the data gateway 104, the sub-surface sensor node 102 f may beconfigured to transmit collected data to the sub-surface sensor node 102e, which may be within range of the data gateway 104. The sub-surfacesensor node 102 e may then be configured to store data received from thesub-surface sensor node 102 f and forward the data on to the datagateway 104.

Accordingly, it is contemplated herein that the sensor nodes 102 of thepresent disclosure may be configured to identify other sensor nodes 102.In the event a sensor node 102 breaks or a particular sensor node 102 isunable to transmit data along its usual data transmission path to thedata gateway 104, the sensor node 102 may be configured to identifyanother sensor node 102 to which it may transmit data, and thereby froman alternative data transmission path to the data gateway 104. Forexample, referring still to FIG. 1B, if the second sub-surface sensornode 102 b breaks, or the first sub-surface sensor node 102 a isotherwise unable to transmit data to the second sub-surface sensor node102 b, the first sub-surface sensor node 102 a may be configured toidentify other sensor nodes 102 to which the first sub-surface sensornode 102 a may transmit data. For instance, if the first sub-surfacesensor node 102 a identified the third sub-surface sensor node 102 c,the first sub-surface sensor node 102 a may be configured to transmitdata directly to the third sub-surface sensor node 102 c, therebyforming a new data transmission path from the first sub-surface sensornode 102 a to the data gateway 104.

FIG. 1C illustrates a simplified block diagram of a sub-surface sensorsystem 100, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure. It is noted herein that the description associated withsystems 100 depicted in FIGS. 1A-1B may be regarded as applying tosystem 100 depicted in FIG. 1C, unless noted otherwise herein.Similarly, the following description associated with system 100 depictedin FIG. 1C may be regarded as applying to systems 100 depicted in FIGS.1A-1B, unless noted otherwise herein.

In one embodiment, surface sensor nodes 102 may be configured to“store-and-forward” collected data to additional surface sensor nodes102. In this regard, surface sensor nodes 102 may be regarded as“repeater” or “store-and-forward” sub-surface sensor nodes 102. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 1C, a first surface sensor node 102 a may beconfigured to collect data and transmit the data to a second surfacesensor node 102 b. The second surface sensor node 102 b may beconfigured to collect data, and store collected data and data receivedfrom the first surface sensor node 102 a in memory. The second surfacesensor node 102 b may be further configured to transmit stored data tothe data gateway 104. In this regard, the second surface sensor node 102b may be regarded as a “repeater” or “store-and-forward” sensor node102.

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic view of a sub-surface sensor system 100,in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. Inparticular, FIG. 2 illustrates an aerial view of system 100 implementedin a field 202.

As shown in FIG. 2, system 100 may include one or more sensor nodes 102a-102 l communicatively coupled, either directly or indirectly, to adata gateway 104. For example, sensor nodes 102 f, 102 g, and 102 h maybe configured to transmit collected data directly to data gateway 104.By way of another example, sensor nodes 102 a, 102 g, and 102 i mayserve as “store-and-forward” sensor nodes 102 which are configured toreceive data from other sensor nodes (e.g., 102 b, 102 c, 102 d, 102 h,102 j, 102 k, 102 l), store received data, and forward stored data tothe data gateway.

It is contemplated herein that the data gateway 104 may be positioned ina location which will minimize data transmission interferences, such asatop a barn, grain storage facility (e.g., silo), cellular tower, powerline, etc. It is noted herein that positioning the data gateway 104 tominimize interference with topography, biomass, or other obstructions(e.g., trees, buildings, hills, and the like) may increase theefficiency of data transmission between the data gateway 104 and thesensor nodes 102, as well as between the data gateway 104 and thenetwork 106. It is further contemplated herein that the data gateway 104is positioned at a location which will maximize data connectivity andtransmission and/or maximize the number of sensor nodes 102 which may becommunicatively coupled to the data gateway 104. For example, as shownin FIG. 2, data gateway 104 may be positioned in a locationsubstantially central within a field 202 such that the data gateway 104may increase the efficiency of data transfer between the one or moresensor nodes 102 and the data gateway 104.

In another embodiment, system 100 may include multiple data gateways 104which are communicatively coupled to the network 106. It is noted hereinthat multiple data gateways 104 which are communicatively coupled to thenetwork 106 may maximize data transmission efficiency and the areacovered by system 100. For example, in FIG. 2, field 202 may include asecond data gateway 104 b configured to communicatively couple to atleast a subset of the one or more sensor nodes 102. By including anadditional data gateway 104, the distance between at least a subset ofthe sensor nodes 102 and one of the data gateways 104 may be reduced,thereby increasing data transfer efficiency and reducing the potentialfor interference. In a similar manner, it is contemplated herein thateach field 202 or a series of fields of a farming operation may includeone or more data gateways 104 communicatively coupled to one or moresensor nodes 102, such that system 100 is configured to collect andgenerate data regarding each field of the farming operation.

The data collection and transmittal carried out through system 100 maybe better understood with a detailed explanation of the sensor nodes102. Accordingly, reference will be made to FIG. 3A.

FIG. 3A illustrates a simplified block diagram of a sensor node 102 a,in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. Inembodiments, sensor node 102 may include, but is not limited to, one ormore sensors 124, one or more processors 132, a memory 134, a powersupply 136, a GPS device 138, and a communication device 140.

It is noted herein that the sensor node 102 a, as depicted in FIG. 3A,may be regarded as applying to a sub-surface sensor node 102 (e.g.,sensor nodes 102 a-102 f in FIG. 1A) and/or a surface sensor node 102(e.g., sensor node 102 g, 102 h in FIG. 1A). For example, as illustratedin FIG. 1A, the sensor node 102 a may comprise a surface sensor node 102a in which at least a portion of the sensor node 102 a is positionedabove the surface 101 of a material. However, this is shown purely forillustration, and is not to be regarded as a limitation of the presentdisclosure.

In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3A, all the components of the sensornode 102 a may be contained within a single sensor node 102 a housing103. In one embodiment, the one or more sensors 124 of sensor node 102 ainclude, but are not limited to, one or more moisture sensors 126, oneor more temperature sensors 128, and one or more electroconductivitysensors 130. It is contemplated herein that the one or more sensors 124may include additional and/or alternative sensors including, but notlimited to, chemical composition sensors, pressure sensors, nutrientlevel sensors, pH, constituents, pest sensors, and the like. As notedpreviously herein, the one or more sensors 124 are configured to collectdata regarding one or more sub-surface material characteristics. Forexample, in embodiments where sensor nodes 102 are positioned within thesoil of an agricultural or turf setting, the one or more moisturesensors 126 may be configured to collect data regarding moisture levelsof the soil, the one or more temperature sensors 128 may be configuredto collect data regarding temperatures of the soil, and the one or moreelectroconductivity sensors 130 may be configured to collect dataregarding electroconductivity levels of the soil.

In another embodiment, the one or more processors 132 are configured toreceive data collected by the one or more sensors 124 and storetime-stamped data in memory 134. In another embodiment, the one or moreprocessors 132 may be configured to execute a set of programinstructions stored in memory 134, the set of program instructionsconfigured to cause the one or more processors 132 to carry out one ormore steps of the present disclosure. For example, as noted previouslyherein, the one or more moisture sensors 126 may include capacitive soilmoisture sensors 126 which measure soil moisture levels based oncalculated capacitance levels. In this regard, the one or moreprocessors 132 may be configured to receive capacitance level readingsfrom the capacitive soil moisture sensors 126 and calculate materialmoisture levels based on the received capacitance level readings. Theone or more processors 132 may then be further configured to storecalculated moisture levels in memory 134.

In another embodiment, the sensor node 102 a includes a power supply136. It is noted herein that the power supply 136 may include any powersupply known in the art including, but not limited to, one or morebatteries, one or more battery packs, one or more energy-storingcapacitors, and the like. It is contemplated herein that any powersupply which is capable of long-lasting storage capabilities may be usedin sensor node 102 a, unless noted otherwise herein. In an additionaland/or alternative embodiment, it is contemplated herein that sensornode 102 a may be configured to harvest electrical energy from itsenvironment. For example, the power supply 136 may further include anenergy harvesting apparatus which is configured to harvest electricalenergy from the ground or soil. It is contemplated herein that the powersupply 136 may include one or more power supplies which are sized andconfigured to supply the sensor node 102 a with enough electrical energyto allow the sensor node 102 a to operate sub-surface for several yearswithout requiring recharging, adjusting, or the like.

In another embodiment, the power supply 136 may include a power supplywhich is configured to enable remote charging capabilities. It is notedherein that a power supply 136 enabled with remote charging capabilitiesmay allow the sensor node 102 a to be charged without having to removedor uncovered from the material. For example, power supply 136 mayinclude a power supply which may be inductively charged by a deviceabove the surface. For instance, an inductive charging device may beplaced on the underside of farming equipment (e.g., harvestingequipment, tilling equipment, and the like) such that the inductivecharging device may inductively charge the power supply 136 as thefarming equipment to which the inductive charging device is attachedpasses over the sensor node 102 a.

In one embodiment, sensor node 102 a may include a GPS device 138. TheGPS device 138 may be configured to receive and/or transmit GPS signalsin order to determine the position of the sensor node 102 a. It iscontemplated herein that the GPS position (e.g., GPS coordinates) may betime-stamped, saved in memory, and transmitted along with other storeddata (e.g., temperature data, moisture level data, and the like) suchthat a user may be able to view the position of the sensor node 102 avia display 122 of user interface 120. In another embodiment, GPS device138 may utilize real-time kinematic (RTK) positioning techniques inorder to improve the accuracy of GPS device 138 to sub-centimeteraccuracy. It is further noted herein that the ability to determine theposition/location of sensor nodes 102 may expedite the identificationand retrieval of the sensor nodes 102. In additional and/or alternativeembodiments, it is contemplated herein that the position/location ofeach sensor node 102 may be input by a user via the user interface 120.For example, a user may manually input the GPS location of a sensordevice 102 a via user interface 120 when the sensor device 102 a isinstalled or otherwise positioned within a material (e.g., ground, soil,and the like). It is noted herein that the manual entry of sensor node102 positions/locations may allow for the smaller and/or less expensiveproduction of sensor nodes 102.

It is noted herein that a GPS device 138 which continuously transmitsGPS location data may draw a significant amount of power from the powersupply 136, and thereby decrease the operational life of the sensor node102 a. In this regard, the GPS device 138 may be configured to transmitGPS data at fixed time intervals. In another embodiment, the GPS device138 may be configured to transmit GPS data in response to one or moresignals received from the server 108 and/or controller 114 via thenetwork 106. For example, when the time comes for sub-surface sensornode 102 a to be retrieved and removed from the material (e.g., soil), auser may enter a command in user interface 120 which causes thecontroller 114 to transmit one or more signals via network 106 to thesub-surface sensor node 102 a. The one or more signals may be configuredto cause the GPS device 138 to transmit current GPS location data to thecontroller 114.

In some embodiments, sub-surface sensor nodes 102 may not include a GPSdevice 138. In these embodiments, it is contemplated herein that theprecise location of sub-surface sensor nodes 102 may be determined basedon communication with other sensor nodes 102. For example, referring toFIG. 2, sensor node 102 c may comprise a sub-surface sensor node 102 cwithout a GPS device 138. Conversely, sensor nodes 102 a and 102 b maycomprise surface sensor nodes 102 with GPS devices 138 a, 138 b,respectively. By transmitting signals to both surface sensor node 102 asurface sensor node 102 b and/or additional/alternative sensor nodes102, system 100 may be configured to determine the location ofsub-surface sensor node 102 c. Determining the location of sub-surfacesensor node 102 c may be carried out using any technique known in theart including, but not limited to, signal triangulation, received signalstrength indication (RSSI), and the like.

In another embodiment, the sensor node 102 a includes a communicationdevice 140. The communication device 140 may be configured tocommunicatively couple the sensor node 102 a to other sensor nodes 102 aand/or the data gateway 104, as explained previously herein with respectto FIGS. 1A-1C. In this regard, the communication device 140 may includeany network interface or communication circuitry known in the artconfigured to transmit data stored in memory 134 and receive data fromother sensor nodes 102. For example, the communication device 140 mayinclude transceiver device. For instance, the communication device 140may include a LoRa transceiver device configured to transmit up to a +20dBm level, and configured to receive/detect signals as low as −137 dBmlevel.

It is noted herein that any power and data transmission protocol knownin the art may be utilized by sensor nodes 102 in order to facilitatepower and data transfer among the various components of the sensor nodes102. For example, a SDI-12, RS232, or other protocol may be utilized tofacilitate power and data transfer between the one or more sensors 124,the one or more processors 132, memory 134, power supply 136, GPS device138, and communication device 140.

As noted previously herein, the one or more processors 132 may beconfigured to execute a set of program instructions stored in memory134, the set of program instructions configured to cause the one or moreprocessors 132 to carry out various steps of the present disclosure. Theone or more processors 132 may be configured to cause the communicationdevice 140 to receive data from one or more additional sensor nodes 102and store the received data in memory 134. The one or more processors132 may be further configured to store data collected by the one or moresensors 124 in memory 134. The one or more processors 132 may be furtherconfigured to cause the communication device 140 to transmit data storedin memory 134 to one or more sensor nodes 102 and/or a data gateway 104.The one or more processors 132 may be further configured to cause thecommunication device 140 to identify additional sensor nodes 102 and/ordata gateways 104 when the sensor node 102 a is unable to transmit datato the sensor node 102 or data gateway 104 to which it was previouslycommunicatively coupled. In another embodiment, the one or moreprocessors 132 may be configured to cause the communication device 140to receive one or more signals from the controller 114 or server 108,wherein the one or more processors 132 are configured to adjust one ormore characteristics of sensor node 102 a based on the received one ormore signals.

It is further noted herein that the configuration illustrated in FIG. 3Amay provide a number of advantages over previous sub-surface sensordevices. For example, many previous sub-surface sensor devices utilizecomponents which each have their own processing components. For example,in a previous sub-surface sensor device, the one or more sensors 124 mayeach have their own processor, the GPS device 138 may have its ownprocessor, the communication device 140 may have its own processor, andthe like. Conversely, by providing one or more processors 132 which mayprovide processing functions to each and/or two or more of thecomponents of the sensor node 102 (e.g., sensors 124, power supply 136,GPS unit 138, communication device 140, and the like), as illustrated inFIG. 3A, the configuration may be simplified and the cost ofmanufacturing the sensor node 102 a may be drastically reduced.Furthermore, by providing one or more processors 132 which may provideprocessing functions to each of the components of the sensor node 102,the one or more processors 132 may more efficiently monitor and managepower generated and used by the one or more power supplies 136. This mayallow for the one or more power supplies 136 to more efficiently usepower, thereby extending the feasible operational life of the sensornode 102 a. Details regarding the circuitry and power consumption of thesensor node 102 will be discussed in further detail herein with respectto FIG. 9.

FIG. 3B illustrates a simplified block diagram of a sensor node 102 b,in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. Itis noted herein that the description associated with sensor node 102 adepicted in FIG. 3A may be regarded as applying to sensor node 102 bdepicted in FIG. 3B, unless noted otherwise herein. Similarly, thefollowing description associated with sensor node 102 b depicted in FIG.3B may be regarded as applying to sensor node 102 a depicted in FIG. 3A,unless noted otherwise herein.

It is noted herein that the sensor node 102 b, as depicted in FIG. 3B,may be regarded as applying to a surface sensor node 102 (e.g., sensornodes 102 g, 102 h in FIG. 1A). However, this is not to be regarded as alimitation on the scope of the present disclosure. In this regard,sensor node 102 b may also comprise a sub-surface sensor node 102 b inwhich all of the components of the sensor node 102 b are positionedbelow the surface 101 of a material.

In one embodiment, the components of sensor node 102 b may be containedwithin two or more housings. For example, the one or more sensors 124,the one or more processors 132, and the memory 134 of the sensor node102 b may be contained within a first housing 105, wherein thecommunication device 140, power supply 136, and GPS device 138 arecontained within a second housing 107. In one embodiment, the firsthousing 105 may be positioned below the surface 101 of a material, andthe second housing 107 may be positioned above the surface 101 of thematerial. In another embodiment, the various components contained withinthe first housing 105 and the second housing 107 are communicativelycoupled. For example, as depicted in FIG. 3B, the various componentscontained within the first housing 105 and the second housing 107 may becommunicatively coupled via a wired connection 109.

It is noted herein that the positioning of the various components ofsensor node 102 (e.g., processors 132, memory 134, power supply 125, GPSdevice 138, and the like, is not to be regarded as a limitation of thepresent disclosure, unless noted otherwise herein. For example, variouscomponents which are illustrated as being positioned within the firsthousing 105 may additionally and/or alternatively be positioned withinthe second housing 107.

It is noted herein that positioning at least a portion of a sensor node102 (e.g., second housing 107 of sensor node 102) above the surface 101of a material may allow for several advantages. First, by positioningthe communication device 140 above the surface 101 of the material, datacommunication to and from the sensor node 102 b may be improved due tothe absence of interference caused by material below the surface 101 ofthe material. Similarly, by positioning the GPS device 138 above thesurface 101 of the material may allow the GPS device 138 to moreefficiently and effectively communicate with one or more GPS satellites,which may lead to the GPS device 138 requiring less power and moreaccurately identifying the position/location of the sensor node 102 b.Additionally, positioning the power supply 136 of the sensor node 102 babove the surface 101 of the material may allow the power supply 136 tobe more easily re-charged, adjusted, repaired, or replaced. For example,in embodiments where the power supply 136 includes a battery,positioning the power supply 136 (e.g., battery) above the surface 101of the material may allow the battery to be readily charged and/orreplaced, thereby prolonging the operational life of the sensor node 102b.

It is further noted, however, that the surface sensor node 102 bconfiguration illustrated in FIG. 3B is not to be regarded as limiting,unless noted otherwise herein. In this regard, sensor node 102 billustrated in FIG. 3B may alternatively comprise a sub-surface sensornode 102 b in which both the first housing 105 and the second housing107 are positioned below the surface 101 of the material.

FIG. 4 illustrates a conceptual diagram of a sensor node 102, inaccordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. It isnoted herein that the description associated with sensor nodes 102 a,102 b depicted in FIGS. 3A-3B may be regarded as applying to sensor node102 depicted in FIG. 4, unless noted otherwise herein. Similarly, thefollowing description associated with sensor node 102 depicted in FIG. 4may be regarded as applying to sensor nodes 102 a-102 b depicted inFIGS. 3A-3B, unless noted otherwise herein.

In one embodiment, the one or more sensors 124 may include a pluralityof various sensors. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the one or moremoisture sensors 126 may include a plurality of moisture sensors 126a-126 n. By way of another example, the one or more temperature sensors128 may include a plurality of temperature sensors 128 a-126 n. Inanother embodiment, the plurality of moisture sensors 126 a-126 n and/orthe plurality of temperature sensors, electroconductivity sensors, pHsensors, constituent sensors, nutrient sensors 128 a-128 n may bearranged at varying depths. For instance, a first moisture sensor 126 amay be configured to measure a moisture level of the material (e.g.,soil) of a first area of interest at a first depth and a second moisturesensor 126 b may be configured to measure a moisture level of thematerial (e.g., soil) at a second area of interest at a second depth,where the first depth is different from the second depth. It is notedherein that measuring characteristics of a material and collecting dataat varying depths may provide valuable information regarding thematerial. For example, a high moisture level near the surface 101measured by the first moisture sensor 126 a and a low moisture levelmeasured far below the surface 101 by a fifth moisture sensor 126 e mayindicate that water or other liquids are being absorbed by crops orother biomass near the surface 101, and are not efficiently penetratingthe soil.

In another embodiment, data collected by sub-surface sensor nodes 102may be supplemented by data collected via satellite imagery. Forexample, satellite imagery may be used to collect data regardingmaterial characteristics (e.g., soil) near the surface 101. This mayeliminate or reduce the need for surface sensor nodes 102.

In another embodiment, the one or more sensors 124 include one or moreelectroconductivity sensors 130. The one or more electroconductivitysensors 130 may be arranged below the one or more moisture sensors 126a-126 n and the one or more temperature sensors 128 a-128 n, asillustrated in FIG. 4. However, this is not to be regarded as alimitation on the scope of the present disclosure. In this regard, oneor more electroconductivity sensors 130 may be arranged such that theyare configured to measure electroconductivity levels at varying depthsfrom the surface 101 of the material. Furthermore, as noted previouslyherein, the one or more sensors 124 may include one or more additionaland/or alternative sensors including, but not limited to, chemicalcomposition sensors, pressure sensors, nutrient level sensors, and thelike.

FIG. 5 illustrates an installation depth chart 500 of sensor nodes 102a, 102 b, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure. In particular, chart 500 illustrates example installationdepths of a surface sensor node 102 a and a sub-surface sensor node 102b.

In one embodiment, sub-surface sensor nodes 102 (e.g., sub-surfacesensor node 102 b) may be installed below the surface 101 of a materialat a sufficient depth to prevent the sub-surface sensor nodes 102 (e.g.,sub-surface sensor node 102 b) from being damaged by above-groundoperations. In another embodiment, sub-surface sensor nodes 102 (e.g.,sub-surface sensor node 102 b) may be installed below the surface 101 ofa material at a sufficient depth to allow for effective datatransmission to and from the sub-surface sensor nodes 102 b. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 5, sub-surface sensor node 102 b is installedapproximately twelve inches below the surface 101 of the material (e.g.,12 inches below ground). It is noted herein that a depth ofapproximately ten inches has been found to be a sufficient depth atwhich to install sub-surface sensor nodes 102 b to ensure thesub-surface sensor nodes 102 b are not damaged by tilling, planting, orharvesting operations, while still ensuring efficient data transmissionto and from the sub-surface sensor nodes 102 b.

In another embodiment, surface sensor node 102 a and sub-surface sensornode 102 b may be installed such that data collected by the surfacesensor node 102 a and the sub-surface sensor node 102 b is collected atregular and/or continuous intervals. For example, as shown in chart 500,the one or more sensors of the surface sensor node 102 a may collectdata regarding material characteristics from the surface 101 until adepth of approximately 18 inches. Conversely, the sub-surface sensornode 102 b may collect data regarding material characteristics from adepth of approximately 18 inches to depths of approximately 60 inches.It is noted herein that installing surface sensor nodes 102 a andsub-surface sensor nodes 102 b in such a manner may allow for materialcharacteristics (e.g., moisture levels, temperatures,electroconductivity levels) to be measured on a consistent, contiguousbasis from the surface 101 to a particular depth. In such aconfiguration, data may be collected by different sensor nodes 102without creating gaps of depths at which no material data is collected.

It is noted herein that the installation depths and configurationsillustrated in chart 500 are provided for exemplary purposes. In thisregard, additional and/or alternative installation depths andconfigurations may be used without departing from the spirit or scope ofthe present disclosure. It is further noted herein that the materialwithin which sub-surface characteristics are being measured may affectthe depths at which sub-surface sensor nodes 102 may be installed.

While much of the present disclosure is directed to the use of system100 in an agricultural context, this is not to be regarded as alimitation on the scope of the present disclosure. In this regard, it iscontemplated herein that embodiments disclosed herein may be used in anyindustry or context in which sub-surface characteristics may be desired.For example, farmers, agronomists, arborists, golf course managers,homeowners, and the like may utilize embodiments of system 100 in orderto identify soil watering requirements, in near-real time, throughoutcrop-growing seasons, golfing seasons, summers, and the like.Furthermore, the addition of chemical or other types of sensors withinsensor nodes 102 may provide commercial users to identify soil nutrientlevels, pesticide levels, pest and/or microbe levels, macro-nutrientlevels, and the like in near-real time. Embodiments of the presentdisclosure may be advantageous to commercial users (e.g., farmers,agronomists, arborists, and the like) by increasing the versatility ofdata collection while simultaneously decreasing annual input and laborcosts. On the other hand, golf course managers, homeowners, turfmanagers, playing field managers (e.g., soccer field managers, footballfield managers, and the like) may benefit from the sub-surface sensornodes 102 of the present disclosure, in that they may provide valuablesoil moisture, temperature, and or nutrient data without compromisingthe cosmetic appearance of the greens, lawns, courses, fields, orlandscaping.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may be used in conjunction withagricultural fields, orchards, greenhouses, pipelines, and the like inorder to identify soil moisture levels near drip irrigation lines and/orunderground pipelines. Furthermore, by placing sensor nodes 102 neardrip irrigation lines/underground pipelines, it is contemplated hereinthat system 100 may be configured to identify drastic, sudden, orunexpected increases in soil moisture, gas, nutrient, constituent, andpH, levels as potential leaks or other damage to the drip irrigationlines and/or underground liquid or gas pipelines. In this regard, alertsgenerated by system 100 may serve as an advanced warning system toprevent equipment damage or the waste of water, pesticides, herbicides,or other materials. Similarly, homeowners or turf managers may installsensor nodes 102 proximate to sprinkler heads in yards and sports fieldsin order to identify individual sprinkler heads or sprinkler zones whichmay have a leak or be malfunctioning. Furthermore, utilizing system 100in yards, fields, or courses may allow for more individual zone controland water conservation.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may be further utilized inconstruction and/or infrastructure contexts. For example, utilizingsub-surface sensor nodes 102 of system 100 within curing concrete mayallow construction development managers to monitor the proper curing ofthe concrete and to ensure a solid, consistent pour. By way of anotherexample, burying sub-surface sensor nodes 102 and/or surface sensornodes near or within roads, train tracks, bridge abutments, subwaytunnels, and the like, may allow civil engineers to monitorenvironmental and safety concerns (e.g., erosion, concrete stability,track safety, and the like) in order to ensure public safety. Similarly,it is contemplated herein that sensor nodes 102 may include one or moreaccelerometers which are configured to collect acceleration data.Acceleration data may then be used for a number of applicationsincluding, but not limited to, tracking movements (e.g., train orvehicle movement, movements of groups of animals, and the like),predicting earthquakes recording earthquake tremor data, and the like.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may additionally be utilized inwaste handling contexts. For example, submerging sub-surface sensornodes 102 within municipal, industrial, or animal waste volumes (e.g.,tanks, ponds, landfills, and the like) may allow facility managers tomonitor characteristics of the waste including temperature, level/depth,runoff constituents, chemical gasses, leaching constituents, and thelike. It is noted herein that monitoring waste characteristics in realtime or near-real time may provide for safer and more efficient wastemanagement techniques. By way of another example, submerging sub-surfacesensor nodes 102 within manure or compost piles may allow a farmer orwaste operator to monitor heat production, prevent compost spoilage, andensure the safe disposal of waste.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may additionally be utilized inthe context of commodity storage. For example, submerging sub-surfacesensor nodes 102 within volumes of commodities (e.g., grain piles, grainbags, potatoes, sugar beets, grains, silage, wheat, corn, soybeans, haybales, barley, and the like), may allow farmers or storage managers tomonitor temperature, moisture levels, protein levels of the commodity inreal or near-real time. It is noted herein that monitoring thetemperature and moisture levels of commodities in real or near real timemay help prevent the unintentional spoilage, fermentation, orspontaneous combustion of the commodities. Furthermore, as notedpreviously herein, a system 100 implemented in a commodity context mayfurther include operational devices 142 which may be automaticallycontrolled by the system 100 in response to data collected by thesystem. For example, multiple sensor nodes 102 may be buried within avolume of grain stored within a silo. The sensor nodes 102 may beconfigured to measure the temperature and moisture levels of the grainat varying depths. In this example, system 100 may further includedrying equipment (e.g., operational equipment 142) of the grain silo. Inthis regard, if the one or more sensor nodes 102 collected data whichindicated that the temperature or moisture level of the grain wasbecoming too high or too low, the controller 114 and/or server 108 ofsystem 100 may be configured to transmit one or more signals to adjustone or more characteristics of the drying equipment (e.g., operationalequipment 142) in order to correct the temperature or moisture level ofthe grain.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may be further utilized in animalfarming contexts. For example, submerged sub-surface sensor nodes 102within a fish pond may allow for the remote real-time or near-real timemonitoring of water conditions, including pH, salinity, temperature andthe like. It is even contemplated herein that sensor nodes 102 includingmotion sensors may be utilized to monitor activity of the fish. By wayof another example, surface sensor nodes 102 and sub-surface sensornodes 102 in cattle feedyards may allow feedyard managers to monitormanure movement, nutrient leaching, and the like. Furthermore, it iscontemplated that sensor nodes 102 within a feedyard or other livestockfacility may be used to track the application and movement of effluentfrom one or more areas or facilities where the effluent is applied. Inthis regard, embodiments of system 100 may help reduce over applicationof effluent and material waste.

It is noted herein that the one or more components of system 100 may becommunicatively coupled to the various other components of system 100 inany manner known in the art. For example, various components of system100 may be communicatively coupled to each other and other componentsvia a wireline (e.g., copper wire, fiber optic cable, and the like) orwireless connection (e.g., RF coupling, IR coupling, data networkcommunication (e.g., WiFi, WiMax, Bluetooth and the like).

In one embodiment, the one or more processors 110, 116, 132 may includeany one or more processing elements known in the art. In this sense, theone or more processors 110, 116, 132 may include any microprocessor-typedevice configured to execute software algorithms and/or instructions. Inone embodiment, the one or more processors 110, 116, 132 may consist ofa desktop computer, mainframe computer system, workstation, imagecomputer, parallel processor, or other computer system (e.g., networkedcomputer) configured to execute a program configured to operate thesystem 100, as described throughout the present disclosure. It should berecognized that the steps described throughout the present disclosuremay be carried out by a single computer system or, alternatively,multiple computer systems. Furthermore, it should be recognized that thesteps described throughout the present disclosure may be carried out onany one or more of the one or more processors 110, 116, 132. In general,the term “processor” may be broadly defined to encompass any devicehaving one or more processing elements, which execute programinstructions from memory 112, 118, 134. Moreover, different subsystemsof the system 100 (e.g., data gateway 104, sensors 124, power supply136, GPS device 138, communication device 140, and the like) may includeprocessor or logic elements suitable for carrying out at least a portionof the steps described throughout the present disclosure. Therefore, theabove description should not be interpreted as a limitation on thepresent disclosure but merely an illustration.

The memory 112, 118, 134 may include any storage medium known in the artsuitable for storing program instructions executable by the associatedone or more processors 110, 116, 132. For example, the memory 112, 118,134 may include a non-transitory memory medium. For instance, the memory112, 118, 134 may include, but is not limited to, a read-only memory(ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic or optical memory device(e.g., disk), a magnetic tape, a solid state drive and the like. Inanother embodiment, the memory 112, 118, 134 is configured to store datacollected by the one or more sensors 124 and GPS data generated and/orreceived by the GPS unit 138. It is further noted that memory 112, 118,134 may be housed in a common controller housing with the one or moreprocessors 114, 116, 132. In an alternative embodiment, the memory 112,118, 134 may be located remotely with respect to the physical locationof the processors 110, 116, 132, and server 108, controller 114, and thelike. In another embodiment, the memory 112, 118, 134 maintains programinstructions for causing the one or more processors 110, 116, 134 carryout the various steps described through the present disclosure.

It is noted that the network various components of system 100 (e.g.,data gateway 104, server 108, controller 114, and the like) may includea network interface (not shown) configured to communicatively couple thevarious components to the network 106. The network interface may includeany network interface circuitry or network interface device suitable forinterfacing with network 106. For example, the network interfacecircuitry may include wireline-based interface devices (e.g., DSL-basedinterconnection, cable-based interconnection, T9-based interconnection,and the like). In another embodiment, the network interface circuitrymay include a wireless-based interface device employing GSM, GPRS, CDMA,EV-DO, EDGE, WiMAX, 3G, 4G, 4G LTE, 5G, 6G, WiFi protocols, RF, LoRa,and the like.

FIG. 6A illustrates an exploded view 610 of a sensor node 102, inaccordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. It isnoted herein that any discussion associated with sensor nodes 102 a, 102b illustrated in FIGS. 3A-3B may be regarded as applying to sensor nodes102 illustrated in FIGS. 6A-6E, unless noted otherwise herein.Similarly, any discussion associated with sensor nodes 102 illustratedin FIGS. 6A-6E may be regarded as applying to sensor nodes 102 a, 102 billustrated in FIGS. 3A-3B, unless noted otherwise herein.

In particular, exploded view 610 illustrates a manner of producingsensor nodes 102 in a modular fashion. In one embodiment, sensor node102 includes, but is not limited to, a sensor node body 602, a top cap604, a bottom cap 606, a base structure 608, one or more sensors 124, anelectronics board 609, and one or more power supplies 136. In oneembodiment, the sensor node body 602 may comprise a hollow tube with afirst opening 601 a and a second opening 601 b. It is contemplatedherein that the sensor node body 602 may be buried or submerged in awide variety of materials (e.g., soil, industrial waste, concrete, andthe like) for long periods of time (e.g., three years or more) withoutdecaying or decomposing. In this regard, it is contemplated herein thatsensor node body 602 is made of a material which does not decay ordecompose when exposed to moisture or chemicals including, but notlimited to, plastic, aluminum, coated steel, and the like.

In another embodiment, the various components of sensor node 102 (e.g.,one or more sensors 124, one or more processors 132, memory 134, powersupply 136, GPS device 138, communication device 140, and the like) maybe produced on the base structure 608. In this regard, the basestructure 608 may include any structure known in the art including, butnot limited to, a DIN rail, a printed circuit board, and the like. Inone embodiment, base structure 608 is structurally rigid. In oneembodiment, the various components of sensor node 102 may be produced ordisposed on base structure 608 such that they are communicativelycoupled. For example, sensors 124 a-124 e and power supplies 136 a-136 cmay be disposed on the base structure such that they are communicativelycoupled. It is noted herein that the one or more sensors 124 a-124 e mayinclude any sensors known in the art including, but not limited to, oneor more moisture sensors 126, one or more temperature sensors 128, oneor more electroconductivity sensors 130, and the like). In the interestsof simplicity, electronics board 609 may be regarded as includingvarious other components of the sensor node 102 including, but notlimited to, the one or more processors 132, memory 134, GPS unit 138,communication device 140, and the like.

In one embodiment, various components of sensor node 102 may be producedor disposed on base structure 608 in a modular fashion. In this regard,it is contemplated herein that the various components disposed on basestructure 608 may be removed, rearranged, or replaced with alternativeand/or additional components. It is contemplated herein that the modulararrangement of components on base structure 608 may allow for sensornodes 102 to be constructed in a specific fashion based on the specificneeds at hand. Furthermore, the ability to remove and rearrangecomponents on base structure 608 may allow for broken components to bereplaced, as well as a single sensor node 102 to be re-designed to fitvarying purposes, thereby allowing bespoke, custom data collectionsolutions.

FIG. 6B illustrates an exploded view 620 of a sensor node 102, inaccordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 6B, the base structure 608 including the variouscomponents of the sensor node 102 may be inserted within the sensor nodebody 602 through the first opening 601 a and/or the second opening 601b. It is contemplated herein that the base structure 608 may besubstantially the same length L₁ as the sensor node body 602. However,this is not to be regarded as a limitation on the scope of the presentdisclosure.

It is noted herein that the base structure 608 including the variouscomponents of the sensor node 102 may not completely or fully fill thevolume 612 of the sensor node body 602. In this regard, volume 612 mayinclude empty space. Empty space within the sensor node body 602 mayallow the base structure 608 and/or components disposed on the basestructure 608 to be jostled around, dislodged, or damaged as the sensornode 102 is moved around. Accordingly, in one embodiment, the volume 612may be filled with a substance which is configured to fill the volume612 within the sensor node body 602 in order to hold the base structure608 and/or components disposed on the base structure 608 firmly inplace. The substance may include any substance known in the artincluding, but not limited to, urethane, acrylic, epoxy, materials witha conformal coating, an expanding foam, a Styrofoam insert, and thelike. It is further noted herein that filing volume 612 with a substancemay further prevent water or other material from leaking into the sensornode body 602 and damaging components of the sensor node 102.

FIG. 6C illustrates a perspective view 630 of a sensor node 102, inaccordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

In one embodiment, the top cap 604 may be inserted into the firstopening 601 a of the sensor node body 602. Similarly, in anotherembodiment, the bottom cap 606 may be inserted into the second opening601 b of the sensor node body 602. The top cap 604 and the bottom cap606 may be secured to the sensor node body 602 using any technique knownin the art including, but not limited to, welds, solder, friction welds,adhesives, and the like. It is noted that any permanent orsemi-permanent technique known in the art may be used. It is furthernoted herein that securing the top cap 604 and the bottom cap 606 to thesensor node body 602 may prevent moisture and other material fromentering the sensor node body 602 and damaging components of the sensornode 102. In one embodiment, the bottom cap 606 includes a pointed end.It is noted herein that a pointed end on the bottom cap 606 mayfacilitate the installation of the sensor node 102 within a material,including soil.

FIG. 6D illustrates an exploded view 640 of a sensor node 102 integratedwith an additional sensor device 622, in accordance with one or moreembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6D illustrates how components of sensor node 102 may be integratedwith one or more additional sensor devices 622 in a modular fashion. Inone embodiment, sensor node 102 may be configured to integrate with oneor more additional sensor devices 622. For example, as shown in FIG. 6D,the sensor node body 602 may be configured to couple to an adapter 616,wherein the adaptor 616 is configured to couple the sensor node body 602to an additional body 618 containing one or more additional sensordevices 622. It is noted herein that the ability to couple the sensornode body 602 (and thereby the sensor node 102) to one or moreadditional sensor devices 622 may allow the sensor node 102 to takeadvantage of updated sensors, third-party sensor devices, and the like.For instance, the one or more additional sensor devices 622 may comprisemoisture sensors produced by a third party manufacturer.

It is further noted herein that coupling one or more additional sensordevices 622 to the sensor node body 602 may provide for a number ofadvantages. For example, coupling one or more additional sensor devices622 may allow for a user to create a more bespoke, customized datacollection solution which is tailored to their particular needs. By wayof another example, coupling one or more additional sensor devices 622may allow for one or more components of the sensor node 102 disposed onthe base structure 608 to be removed. For instance, where the one ormore additional sensor devices 622 include moisture sensors, one or moremoisture sensors 126 (illustrated as sensors 124 in FIG. 6D) may beremoved from the base structure 608, thereby simplifying the design andreducing the cost to manufacture the sensor node 102.

FIG. 6E illustrates a perspective view 650 of a sensor node 102integrated with an additional sensor device 622, in accordance with oneor more embodiments of the present disclosure.

In one embodiment, the adaptor 616 is configured to communicativelycouple the one or more additional sensor devices 622 contained withinthe additional body 618 to the components disposed on the base structure608 (e.g., one or more sensors 124, electronics board 609, one or morepower supplies 136, and the like). The one or more additional sensordevices 622 may be communicatively coupled to the components disposed onthe base structure 608 using any wired or wireless connection known inthe art. As noted previously herein, the volume 612 within the sensornode body 602, adapter 616, and/or additional body 618 may be filledwith a substance, such as urethane, acrylic, epoxy, materials with aconformal coating, or an expanding foam. Furthermore, the sensor nodebody 602, adapter 616, and/or additional body 618 may be coupled to oneanother using any technique known in the art including, but not limitedto, welds, solder, friction welds, adhesives, and the like.

In a similar manner, it is contemplated herein that the sensor node body602 may be configured to couple to an additional body (not shown) whichcontains a data transmission head (e.g., communication device 140). Forexample, a data transmission head including a communication device 140may be coupled to the sensor node body 602 between the sensor node body602 and the top cap 604. The data transmission head may be constructedusing any technique known in the art including, but not limited to,injection molding, blow molding, 3D printing, over-molding, and thelike. Additionally, the data transmission head may be made of anymaterial including, but not limited to, plastic, aluminum, coated steel,and the like. Furthermore, it is contemplated herein that a datatransmission head may allow for the sensor node 102 to utilizecommunication devices 140 manufactured from third-party manufacturers.In this regard, the components disposed on the base structure 608 may becommunicatively coupled to one or more communication devices 140contained within a data transmission head using any connections oradaptors known in the art.

It is further noted herein that the modular configuration of the sensornodes 102, as depicted in FIGS. 6A-6E, may facilitate remote sensingdevices which utilize technology from a number of suppliers. Forexample, by utilizing the modular configuration of sensor nodes 102,third parties may be able to incorporate various components of thesensor node 102 (e.g., transmission head, sensors 124, and the like)into third-party sensor devices. By manufacturing sensor nodes 102 insuch a manner that sensor nodes 102 may be able to incorporate, and tobe incorporated within, third-party sensor devices, the sensor nodes 102of the present disclosure may foster third-party collaboration andfacilitate more custom, personalized data collection solutions.

FIG. 7 illustrates components of a sensor node 102 disposed on a printedcircuit board 702, in accordance with one or more embodiments of thepresent disclosure. The printed circuit board 702 may include a basestructure 608 and a plurality of flexible wings 704 a-704 d.

Previous sensor probes, including previous capacitance-style soilmoisture probes, have often been constructed using a rigid printedcircuit board inserted within metal rings and supported by plasticsupport structures. Production of these sensor probes required manualassembly of the metal rings and plastic support structures, which is atime consuming and tedious process. Furthermore, this required the metalrings to be manually soldered to the rigid printed circuit board. Theend result of this process is a very rigid sensor probe assembly whichmay be easily cracked or broken when the assembly is inserted into theground.

Comparatively, FIG. 7 illustrates an alternative configuration formanufacturing a sensor node 102. The configuration illustrated in FIG. 7may be easier to manufacture, and may produce sensor nodes 102 which aremore durable and less susceptible to cracking or breaking. It is notedherein that the configuration illustrated in FIG. 7 may comprise andadditional and/or alternative configuration to the configurationillustrated in FIGS. 6A-6E.

In one embodiment, the printed circuit board 702 includes a rigid basestructure 608 comprising a printed circuit board (PCB) and one or moreflexible wings 704 a, 704 b, 704 c, 704 d. As noted previously hereinwith respect to FIGS. 6A-6B, various components of a sensor node 102(e.g., one or more sensors 124, one or more processors 132, memory 134,power supply 136, GPS device 138, communication device 140, and thelike) may be disposed on a base structure 608. The rigid base structure608 and flexible wings 704 may be made of any material known in the artincluding, but not limited to, rigid laminate and flexible laminate,respectively. In one embodiment, the one or more flexible wings 704 areconfigured to contact the inner surface of a sensor node body 602 inorder to safely secure the rigid base structure 608 (e.g., PCB)including the components of the sensor node 102 within the sensor nodebody 602 as well as to easily position the circuit board with therespective measurement sensors with a certain tolerance with the tube602. This may be further understood with reference to FIG. 8.

FIG. 8 illustrates a cross-sectional view 810 of a printed circuit board702 with components of a sensor node 102 disposed within a sensor nodebody 602, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

As noted previously herein, sensor node body 602 may include a hollowtube. In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, the flexible wings 704a-704 d may be folded or wrapped inwards in order to dispose the printedcircuit board 702 within the sensor node body 602. Upon being disposedwithin the sensor node body 602, the flexible wings 704 may beconfigured to extend outward, thereby contacting the interior walls ofthe sensor node body 602 and safely securing the rigid base structure608 within the center of the sensor node body 602. It is noted hereinthat the flexible wings 704 may be configured to flex and bend while theprinted circuit board 608 is disposed within the sensor node body 602,thereby protecting the components of the sensor node 102 (e.g., one ormore sensors 124, one or more processors 132, memory 134, power supply136, GPS device 138, communication device 140, and the like) from damageas the sensor node body 602 is moved around. In an additional and/oralternative embodiment, as noted herein with respect to FIGS. 6A-6E, asubstance such as urethane, acrylic, epoxy, materials with a conformalcoating, or an expandable foam may be used to fill the empty volume 612within the sensor node body 602.

FIG. 9 illustrates a simplified view 900 of an electrical circuit of apower supply 136 for a sensor node 102, in accordance with one or moreembodiments of the present disclosure.

In one embodiment, a power supply 136 for a sensor node 102 may includea first battery 902 a and a second battery 902 b, as shown in FIG. 9. Inone embodiment, the batteries 902 a, 902 b include internal lithiuminorganic (D cell) batteries. In one embodiment, the first battery 902 aand the second battery 902 b may each be configured to provide 20 Ah ofelectric charge. In one embodiment, the current drawn from the batteriesmay be limited to 4 mA through R₁ and R₂ for the first battery 902 a,and 4 mA through R₃ and R₄ for the second battery 902 b.

It is noted herein that energy drawn from the one or more power supplies136 of a sensor node 102 must be monitored and regulated in order toconserve power and prolong the operative life of the sensor node 102. Itis further noted herein that a communication device 140 of a sensor node102 may draw large amounts of current when the transmitting data. Forexample, a communication device 140 may draw up to 300 mA of currentwhen transmitting data. If this current were drawn directly from thebatteries 902 a, 902 b, the batteries would be quickly drained and theoperative life of the sensor nodes 102 would be diminished.

Accordingly, it is contemplated herein that utilizing a combination ofbatteries 902 a, 902 b and capacitors may more effectively conservebattery power and prolong the operative life of a sensor node 102. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 9, a power supply 136 may include a firstcapacitor 904 a and a second capacitor 904 b in addition to batteries902 a, 902 b. In one embodiment, capacitors 904 a, 904 b may includelithium ion capacitors. In one embodiment, capacitors 904 a, 904 b maybe configured to store energy in order to more effectively manage powerdrawn from the batteries 902 a, 902 b. In this regard, an initialcurrent may be drawn from the batteries 902 a, 902 b while pre-chargingthe capacitors 904 a, 904 b. In one embodiment, during operation, eachcapacitor 904 a, 904 b may be configured to supply approximately 1 A ofcurrent. It is noted herein that the current which may be provided byeach of the capacitors 904 a, 904 b may be sufficient to power acommunication device 140 as well as various other components of sensornode 102 without placing a significant burden on the batteries 902 a,902 b.

In another embodiment, power supply 136 includes a first ideal diode 906a and a second ideal diode 906 b. The first ideal diode 906 a and thesecond ideal diode 906 b may be configured to balance the load betweenthe first capacitor 904 a and the second capacitor 904 b in order toincrease the efficiency of the power source 136. In another embodiment,power supply 136 includes a first comparator 908 a and a secondcomparator 908 b configured to monitor the voltage of the batteries 902a, 902 b. In another embodiment, the comparators 908 a, 908 b areconfigured to identify whether the first battery 902 a or the secondbattery 902 b has a low voltage, and disconnect a battery 902 a, 902 bwith a low voltage from the electrical circuit. In another embodiment,once both the first battery 902 a and the second battery 902 b reach apre-defined low voltage level, the comparators 908 a, 902 b areconfigured to disconnect the first battery 902 a and the second battery902 b from the circuit in order to prevent low voltage from beingprovided to the one or more sensors 124 of the sensor node 102. Forexample, once the first battery 902 a and the second battery 902 b fellto 2.5V, the comparators 908 a, 902 b may be configured to disconnectthe first battery 902 a and the second battery 902 b from the circuit.

It is noted herein that the configuration of a power supply 136illustrated in FIG. 9 is provided solely for illustration and is not tobe regarded as limiting, unless noted otherwise herein. In this regard,additional and/or alternative power supply 136 configurations may beutilized in system 100 without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe present disclosure. For example, it is contemplated herein that apower supply 136 which utilizes a single battery 902 and a singlecapacitor 904 in a load-balanced configuration may be used.

FIG. 10 illustrates a simplified view 1000 of an electrical circuit of acapacitive moisture probe 1001.

It is noted herein that moisture sensors or probes, including soilmoisture probes, may measure variations in resistance and/or capacitancein order to measure the level of moisture in the soil. In particular,capacitive moisture probes may measure variations in capacitancesinduced by proportional levels of moisture within a volume of soil. Forexample, capacitive moisture probe 1001 illustrates an capacitive probewhich has been utilized in previous capacitive probe approaches. It iscontemplated herein that a brief discussion of previous electricalcircuit of capacitive moisture probe 1001 may help illustrate inventiveconcepts of the present disclosure.

Previous soil moisture probes often utilize an oscillator comprising afixed inductor wired in parallel with a probe capacitor. The probecapacitor may be configured to change capacitance based on the amount ofmoisture in the soil surrounding the probe capacitor. This inductor andcapacitor circuit may be referred to as an “LC circuit.” Furthermore,the LC circuit may set the frequency of the oscillator. As the moisturelevel in the soil surrounding the probe capacitor changes, thecapacitance of the probe capacitor may change, thereby changing thefrequency of the oscillator. The frequency of the oscillator maysubsequently be divided down digitally to a measurable frequency, whichmay then be converted to a moisture content level using a calibratedcapacitance/moisture level formula.

For example, as shown in FIG. 10, capacitive moisture probe 1001 mayinclude a high-frequency tank oscillator 1002 and an LC circuit 1005.The LC circuit may include a probe capacitor 1004 wired in parallel withan inductor 1006. The high-frequency tank oscillator 1002 may exhibit afixed amplitude output which varies in frequency proportionally tomoisture levels in the material surrounding the probe capacitor 1004. Inthis regard, as the moisture level of the material (e.g., soil)surrounding probe capacitor 1004 changes, the capacitance level of theprobe capacitor 1004 may also change. The change in the capacitance ofthe probe capacitor 1004 may thereby alter the frequency of the LCcircuit 1005, and thereby the frequency of the high-frequency tankoscillator 1002.

Capacitive moisture probe 1001 may further include a voltage translator1008 which is configured to receive the output from the high-frequencytank oscillator 1002 and convert the output into a more useful voltageswing. Electrical circuit 1001 may further include a digital divider1010 which is configured to divide the frequency into a lower value inorder to count the pulses of the output. Finally, capacitive moistureprobe 1001 may include a conditioner 1012 which is configured tocondition the pulses of the outputs 1013 and 1011 provided to aprocessor. As noted previously, the processor may then be configured touse a calibrated capacitance/moisture level formula in order tocalculate a moisture content level of the soil surrounding the probecapacitor 1004 based on the frequency of the received output.

While the capacitive moisture probe 1001 has been found to effectivelymeasure soil moisture levels, the cost to produce a soil moisture probeutilizing capacitive moisture probe 1001 may be exceedingly high.Furthermore, in order to produce a soil moisture probe which isconfigured to measure soil moisture levels at multiple depths, eachelement of capacitive moisture probe 1001 would have to be repeated foreach depth at which soil moisture levels are to be measured. Thisover-complicates moisture probes, and makes them prohibitively expensiveto produce.

FIG. 11 illustrates a simplified view 1100 of an electrical circuit of acapacitive moisture probe 1101 for a moisture sensor 126 of a sensornode 102, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

It is contemplated herein that the capacitive moisture probe 1101illustrated in FIG. 11 may resolve many of the shortfalls with thecapacitive moisture probe 1001 illustrated in FIG. 10. It is furthercontemplated herein that the capacitive moisture probe 1101 may beincorporated within a moisture sensor 126 of sensor nodes 102, asillustrated in FIGS. 3A-3B.

In one embodiment, capacitive moisture probe 1101 includes an oscillator1102, an LC circuit 1105 including a probe capacitor 1104 and aninductor 1106, and a series resistor 1108. The oscillator 1102 mayinclude, but is not limited to, a spectrum-sweep oscillator 1102, adirect digital synthesis oscillator 1102, and the like. In oneembodiment, capacitive moisture probe 1101 is configured to measuremoisture levels of a material (e.g., soil) located within an area ofinterest surrounding the probe capacitor 1104.

In one embodiment, the oscillator 1102 is controlled by a processor(e.g., one or more processors 132, or the like) to independently sweepover a determined range of frequencies. As compared to the capacitivemoisture probe 1001, within which the frequency of the oscillator 1002was dependent upon the capacitance in the LC circuit 1005, the frequencyof the oscillator 1102 is controlled by a processor and is generatedindependently of any characteristics of the LC circuit 1105.

In one embodiment, the oscillator 1102 is configured to sweep across adetermined range of frequencies until a resonant frequency of the LCcircuit 1105 is reached. It is contemplated that the oscillator 1102 maybe able to sweep across a wide range of frequencies, and may be able tofacilitate variable amplitude levels. For example, oscillator 1102 maybe configured to generate frequencies between 0 MHz and 200 MHz at up to0.6 V peak to peak amplitude. For instance, oscillator 1102 may beconfigured to generate frequencies between 0 MHz and 12. MHz. In thisregard, it is noted herein that the oscillator 1102 may be configured togenerate a wider range of frequencies and amplitude levels than that ofthe oscillator 1002 depicted in FIG. 10. It is further noted herein thatincreasing the amplitude of the oscillator 1102 output may allow thecapacitive moisture probe 1101 to expand the area of interest around theprobe capacitor 1104 and measure moisture levels within a larger area ofinterest. In this regard, the capacitive moisture probe 1101 may be ableto measure moisture levels across wider areas of interest than may thecapacitive moisture probe 1001 in FIG. 10.

In one embodiment, the output of the oscillator 1102 is directed to theLC circuit 1105 including the inductor 1106 in parallel with the probecapacitor 1104. In another embodiment, the LC circuit 1105 iselectrically coupled to a series resistor 1108. In one embodiment, asthe oscillator 1102 sweeps across a determined range of frequencies, theoscillator 1102 may reach a resonant frequency of the LC circuit 1105.At the resonant frequency, the magnitude of the impedance of theinductor 1106 will equal the magnitude of the impedance of the probecapacitor 1104. In this regard, as the oscillator 1102 approaches theresonant frequency of the LC circuit 1105, the impedance of the LCcircuit 1105 may approach zero ohms. Accordingly, at the resonantfrequency, the inductive reactance and the capacitive reactance cancelone another out, resulting in a zero or near-zero ohm value.

In another embodiment, a voltage may be generated across the seriesresistor 1108 based on the current passing from the LC circuit 1105.Accordingly, the change in impedance at the resonant frequency may beseen by the amplitude of the current across the series resistor 1108.

It is noted herein that an inductor (e.g., inductor 1106) wired inseries with a capacitor (e.g., probe capacitor 1104) forms a tankcircuit which may be resonant at a particular frequency (e.g., resonantfrequency) based upon the inductance of the inductor (e.g., inductor1106) and the capacitance of the capacitor (e.g., probe capacitor 1104).In this regard, it is further noted herein that soil moisture levels inthe area of interest surrounding the probe capacitor 1104 may bedetermined by analyzing the relationship between the inductor 1106 andthe probe capacitor 1104 at the resonant frequency.

In another embodiment, once the resonant frequency of the LC circuit1105 has been identified, the probe capacitance at the probe capacitor1104 may be calculated based upon its relationship to the inductancevalue of the inductor 1106. This relationship may be illustrated inEquation 1:

$\begin{matrix}{C_{res} = \frac{1}{\left( {2\pi\; f} \right)^{2}L}} & (1)\end{matrix}$

where capacitance of the probe capacitor 1104 is defined as C_(res), theinductance of the inductor 1106 is defined as L, and the resonantfrequency is defined as f.

Once the capacitance C_(res) of the probe capacitor 1104 is found, aprocessor (e.g., one or more processors 132, and the like) may beconfigured to convert the capacitance C_(res) into a measured moisturelevel with a calibrated capacitance/moisture level formula, as notedpreviously herein.

It is noted herein that the capacitive moisture probe 1101 may provide anumber of advantages over previous capacitive moisture probes. Forexample, the ability to independently control the frequency of theoscillator 1102 may allow the oscillator 1102 to sweep across a widerange of frequencies and identify resonant frequencies for a wide rangeof soil types, thereby optimizing the performance of the capacitivemoisture probe 1101 for a wide variety of soil types. This may bereferred to as spectrum analysis. Furthermore, the ability to increasethe amplitude of the output of the oscillator may allow the capacitivemoisture probe 1101 to expand the area of interest around the probecapacitor 1104, thereby expanding the volume of material across whichmoisture levels are determined. Comparatively, the capacitive moistureprobe 1001 in FIG. 10 is not able to sweep across a range of frequencies(e.g., is unable to perform spectrum analysis) and is further unable toincrease the amplitude of the output of the oscillator 1002.

Additionally, by independently controlling the frequency of oscillator1102 to identify resonant frequencies for a wide range of soil types,the capacitive moisture probe 1101 within a sensor node 102 may beconfigured to determine soil types at one or more soil depths, based oncapacitance readings and oscillator 1102 frequencies, without having toacquire samples and send samples to a lab for analysis.

It is further contemplated herein that communication between multiplecapacitance moisture probes 1101 may allow a system (e.g., system 100)to determine soil types without having to acquire samples and sendsamples to a lab for analysis. For example, a calibrated capacitivemoisture probe 1101 a may be installed in the ground a pre-determineddistance from an additional capacitive moisture probe 1101 b. Thecalibrated capacitive moisture probe 1101 a and the additionalcapacitive moisture probe 1101 b may transmit signals through the ground(e.g., below surface 101) to one another. Based on characteristics ofthe signals and capacitance readings of the capacitive moisture probe1101 a and the additional capacitive moisture probe 1101 b, a system(e.g., system 100) may be able to assign a soil metric or soilcoefficient to the material, wherein the soil metric or soilcoefficients are indicative of the types of soil and the probability thesoil determination is correct. For example, based on the distancebetween the capacitive moisture probe 1101 a and the additionalcapacitive moisture probe 1101 b, as well as the RSSI values of signalsbetween the two, system 100 may be configured to determine a density ofthe soil, which may be a factor in determining soil metrics and/or soilcoefficients.

FIG. 12 illustrates a simplified view 1200 of an electrical circuit of acapacitive moisture probe 1201 for a moisture sensor 126 of a sensornode 102, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure. It is noted herein that, to the extent applicable, anydescription associated with the capacitive moisture probe 1101 depictedin FIG. 11 may be regarded as applying to the capacitive moisture probe1201 depicted in FIG. 12, unless noted otherwise herein.

The capacitive moisture probe 1201 depicted in FIG. 12 may comprise asimplified version of the capacitive moisture prove 1101 depicted inFIG. 11. In this regard, it is contemplated that the capacitive moistureprobe 1201 may further reduce the production cost of a moisture probe126 which may be used in sensor node 102. Furthermore, it iscontemplated herein that the capacitive moisture probe 1201 may operatein a manner similar to the capacitive moisture probe 1102.

In one embodiment, the capacitive moisture probe 1201 includes anoscillator 1202, an LC circuit 1205 including a probe capacitor 1204 andan inductor 1206, and a series resistor 1208. In another embodiment, theoscillator 1202 is controlled by a processor and is configured toreceive square waves from the processor. In another embodiment, thesquare wave generated by the processor may be converted into a sine waveusing a simple filter circuit employing discrete components. It is notedherein that the effectiveness and accuracy of capacitive moisture probe1201 may be dependent upon the ability of the processor to generate theproper spectrum of square wave frequencies accurately. It is furthernoted herein that this may be facilitated by the use of a digital signalprocessor (DSP).

In one embodiment, if the oscillator 1202 outputs a square wavefrequency which is not the resonant frequency of the LC circuit 1205(e.g., tank circuit), a minimum current may flow through series resistor1208, resulting in a minimum voltage to appear across series resistor1208. Conversely, as the resonant frequency, the LC circuit 1205 willbecome resonant and a maximum current may flow through series resistor1208.

It is further noted herein that the use of square waves and/or a DSP mayprovide for higher sampling frequencies than may be provided by aspectrum-sweep oscillator (e.g., spectrum-sweep oscillator 1102). Inanother embodiment, oscillator 1202 may drive multiple LC circuits 1205at varying depths in order to determine moisture levels at varyingdepths within a sensor node 102. In this regard, the DC outputs frommultiple LC circuits 1205 may be read on individual analog ports of aprocessor (e.g., one or more processors 132). It is further contemplatedherein that one single sweep through a frequency range with theoscillator 1202 may be used to identify the resonant frequency of eachindividual LC circuit 1205.

FIG. 13 depicts a graph 1300 illustrating a resonant frequency of acapacitive probe in a material with zero moisture level, in accordancewith one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. Moreparticularly, graph 1300 illustrates a capacitive moisture probe (e.g.,capacitive moisture probe 1101) in a material with 0% moisture content(e.g., moisture level of 0%).

The lower trace 1302 illustrates the frequency of the oscillator 1102over time as the oscillator sweeps through a range of frequencies. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 13, the lower trace 1302 shows the oscillator1102 sweeping through a range of 12.5 MHz at the peak to a range of 12.0MHz at the trough of the saw-tooth trace pattern. Conversely, the uppertrace 1304 illustrates the voltage from the capacitive moisture probe inresponse to the frequency provided by the oscillator 1102 in lower trace1302. Comparing upper trace 1304 to lower trace 1302, it may be seenthat a maximum current (and therefore maximum voltage) flows through theLC circuit at a particular resonant frequency. For example, in FIG. 13,the resonant frequency was reached at approximately 12.3 MHz (lowertrace 1302) at which point the probe returned a maximum voltage (at themaximum LC circuit frequency) of approximately 1.8 volts.

FIG. 14 depicts a graph 1400 illustrating a resonant frequency of acapacitive probe in a material with a non-zero moisture level, inaccordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. Moreparticularly, graph 1300 illustrates a capacitive moisture probe (e.g.,capacitive moisture probe 1101) in a material with 100% moisture content(e.g., moisture level of 100%).

Similarly, lower trace 1402 the frequency of the oscillator 1102 overtime as the oscillator sweeps through a range of frequencies, and uppertrace 1404 illustrates the voltage from the capacitive moisture probe inresponse to the frequency provided by the oscillator 1102 in lower trace1302. Comparing graph 1300 and graph 1400, it may be seen that theresonant frequency in a 0% moisture environment is approximately 12.3MHz, whereas the resonant frequency in a 100% moisture level environmentis approximately 12.1 MHz. In this regard, it may be seen that varyinglevels of moisture content may correspond to varying resonantfrequencies. From the resonant frequency of each particular soil,capacitance may then be determined, which may then be used to identifymoisture levels.

FIG. 15 illustrates a flowchart of a method 1500 for collecting dataassociated with one or more sub-surface characteristics of a material,in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. Itis noted herein that the steps of method 1500 may be implemented all orin part by system 100. It is further recognized, however, that themethod 1500 is not limited to the system 100 in that additional oralternative system-level embodiments may carry out all or part of thesteps of method 1500.

In a step 1502, a plurality of sensor nodes are positioned at leastpartially within a material. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 1A, theplurality of sensor nodes 102 may include one or more sub-surface sensornodes 102 a-102 f and one or more surface sensor nodes 102 g-102 h. Asnoted previously herein, the material may include, but is not limitedto, soil, concrete, compost, sand, volumes of commodities (e.g., grain,wheat, corn, potatoes, sugar beets, DDG, and the like), biomass,landfill material, and the like.

In a step 1504, data associated with one or more sub-surface materialcharacteristics is collected with the plurality of sensor nodes. Forexample, as shown in FIGS. 3A-3B, each sensor node 102 of a plurality ofsensor nodes 102 may include one or more sensors 124. The one or moresensors 124 may include any sensors known in the art configured tocollect data associated with one or more sub-surface materialcharacteristics. For example, the one or more sensors 124 may include,but are not limited to, one or more moisture sensors 126, one or moretemperature sensors 128, one or more electroconductivity sensors 130,one or more pressure sensors, one or more chemical composition sensors,one or more nutrient sensors, one or more accelerometer sensors and thelike. It is further contemplated herein that data associated with theone or more sub-surface material characteristics may be collected atvarying depths relative to the surface 101 of the material.

In a step 1506, data collected by the plurality of sensor nodes istransmitted to a data gateway communicatively coupled to a network withat least one sensor node of the plurality of sensor nodes. For example,as shown in FIG. 1A, data collected by the sensor nodes 102 a-102 h istransmitted to a data gateway 104 which is communicatively coupled to anetwork 106. The data is transmitted to the data gateway 104 by sensornode 102 g and sensor node 102 h.

In a step 1508, data associated with the one or more sub-surfacematerial characteristics is displayed with a controller. For example,referring to FIG. 1A, a controller 114 may be communicatively coupled tothe data gateway 104 via a network 106. The controller 114 may beconfigured to receive data collected by the plurality of sensor nodes102 a-102 h from the data gateway 104. The controller 114 may be furtherbe configured to display the collected data associated with one or moresub-surface material characteristics via a display 122 of a userinterface 120 communicatively coupled to the controller 114.

Those having skill in the art will appreciate that there are variousvehicles by which processes and/or systems and/or other technologiesdescribed herein can be affected (e.g., hardware, software, and/orfirmware), and that the preferred vehicle will vary with the context inwhich the processes and/or systems and/or other technologies aredeployed. For example, if an implementer determines that speed andaccuracy are paramount, the implementer may opt for a mainly hardwareand/or firmware vehicle; alternatively, if flexibility is paramount, theimplementer may opt for a mainly software implementation; or, yet againalternatively, the implementer may opt for some combination of hardware,software, and/or firmware. Hence, there are several possible vehicles bywhich the processes and/or devices and/or other technologies describedherein may be effected, none of which is inherently superior to theother in that any vehicle to be utilized is a choice dependent upon thecontext in which the vehicle will be deployed and the specific concerns(e.g., speed, flexibility, or predictability) of the implementer, any ofwhich may vary.

All of the methods described herein may include storing results of oneor more steps of the method embodiments in memory. The results mayinclude any of the results described herein and may be stored in anymanner known in the art. The memory may include any memory describedherein or any other suitable storage medium known in the art. After theresults have been stored, the results can be accessed in the memory andused by any of the method or system embodiments described herein,formatted for display to a user, used by another software module,method, or system, and the like. Furthermore, the results may be stored“permanently,” “semi-permanently,” temporarily,” or for some period oftime. For example, the memory may be random access memory (RAM), and theresults may not necessarily persist indefinitely in the memory.

It is further contemplated that each of the embodiments of the methoddescribed above may include any other step(s) of any other method(s)described herein. In addition, each of the embodiments of the methoddescribed above may be performed by any of the systems described herein.

One skilled in the art will recognize that the herein describedcomponents (e.g., operations), devices, objects, and the discussionaccompanying them are used as examples for the sake of conceptualclarity and that various configuration modifications are contemplated.Consequently, as used herein, the specific exemplars set forth and theaccompanying discussion are intended to be representative of their moregeneral classes. In general, use of any specific exemplar is intended tobe representative of its class, and the non-inclusion of specificcomponents (e.g., operations), devices, and objects should not be takenlimiting.

The herein described subject matter sometimes illustrates differentcomponents contained within, or connected with, other components. It isto be understood that such depicted architectures are merely exemplary,and that in fact many other architectures can be implemented whichachieve the same functionality. In a conceptual sense, any arrangementof components to achieve the same functionality is effectively“associated” such that the desired functionality is achieved. Hence, anytwo components herein combined to achieve a particular functionality canbe seen as “associated with” each other such that the desiredfunctionality is achieved, irrespective of architectures or intermedialcomponents. Likewise, any two components so associated can also beviewed as being “connected,” or “coupled,” to each other to achieve thedesired functionality, and any two components capable of being soassociated can also be viewed as being “couplable,” to each other toachieve the desired functionality. Specific examples of couplableinclude but are not limited to physically mateable and/or physicallyinteracting components and/or wirelessly interactable and/or wirelesslyinteracting components and/or logically interacting and/or logicallyinteractable components.

Furthermore, it is to be understood that the invention is defined by theappended claims. It will be understood by those within the art that, ingeneral, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g.,bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms(e.g., the term “including” should be interpreted as “including but notlimited to,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having atleast,” the term “includes” should be interpreted as “includes but isnot limited to,” and the like). It will be further understood by thosewithin the art that if a specific number of an introduced claimrecitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in theclaim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present.For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claimsmay contain usage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one ormore” to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrasesshould not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claimrecitation by the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particularclaim containing such introduced claim recitation to inventionscontaining only one such recitation, even when the same claim includesthe introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinitearticles such as “a” or “an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should typically beinterpreted to mean “at least one” or “one or more”); the same holdstrue for the use of definite articles used to introduce claimrecitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introducedclaim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art willrecognize that such recitation should typically be interpreted to meanat least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of “tworecitations,” without other modifiers, typically means at least tworecitations, or two or more recitations). Furthermore, in thoseinstances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, and C,and the like” is used, in general such a construction is intended in thesense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g.,“a system having at least one of A, B, and C” would include but not belimited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and Btogether, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and Ctogether, and the like). In those instances where a convention analogousto “at least one of A, B, or C, and the like” is used, in general such aconstruction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art wouldunderstand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B,or C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, Balone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together,and/or A, B, and C together, and the like). It will be furtherunderstood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive wordand/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in thedescription, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplatethe possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, orboth terms. For example, the phrase “A or B” will be understood toinclude the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B.”

It is believed that the present disclosure and many of its attendantadvantages will be understood by the foregoing description, and it willbe apparent that various changes may be made in the form, constructionand arrangement of the components without departing from the disclosedsubject matter or without sacrificing all of its material advantages.The form described is merely explanatory, and it is the intention of thefollowing claims to encompass and include such changes. Furthermore, itis to be understood that the invention is defined by the appendedclaims.

What is claimed:
 1. A system, comprising: a plurality of sensor nodes,each sensor node of the plurality of sensor nodes comprising: a powersupply; and a communication device, wherein the plurality of sensornodes includes one or more underground sensor nodes positioned below thesurface of a material, wherein the plurality of sensor nodes includesone or more partially-exposed sensor node positioned partially below thesurface of the material and partially above the surface of the material,wherein the plurality of sensor nodes further include one or moresensors positioned below the surface of a material to collect dataregarding one or more sub-surface material characteristics, wherein theone or more sensors are located in at least some of the one or moreunderground sensor nodes or the one or more partially-exposed sensornodes; a data gateway communicatively coupled to the plurality of sensornodes via one or more wireless transmission pathways, wherein the datagateway is configured to: receive the data collected by the one or moresensors; and store the data collected by the one or more sensors; and acontroller communicatively coupled to the gateway, wherein thecontroller is configured to: receive the data from the one or moresensors from the data gateway; and display at least a portion of thedata associated with at least one of the one or more sub-surfacematerial characteristics.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the one ormore sensors are located exclusively in the one or more undergroundsensor nodes.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein at least some of the oneor more sensors are located in at least one of the one or morepartially-exposed sensor nodes.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein atleast one of the one or more transmission pathways comprises: atransmission pathway directly between one of the one or morepartially-exposed sensor nodes and the data gateway.
 5. The system ofclaim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more transmission pathwayscomprises: a transmission pathway directly between one of the one ormore underground sensor nodes and the data gateway.
 6. The system ofclaim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more transmission pathwayscomprises: a transmission pathway between a first sensor node of theplurality of sensor nodes and the data gateway through one or moreadditional sensor nodes of the plurality of sensor nodes.
 7. The systemof claim 6, wherein the one or more additional sensor nodes of theplurality of sensor nodes are configured to forward data received fromthe first sensor node.
 8. The system of claim 7, wherein the one or moreadditional sensor nodes of the plurality of sensor nodes are furtherconfigured to store the data received from the first sensor node.
 9. Thesystem of claim 6, wherein the one or more additional sensor nodes ofthe plurality of sensor nodes comprises: at least one of the one or moreunderground sensor nodes.
 10. The system of claim 6, wherein the one ormore additional sensor nodes of the plurality of sensor nodes comprises:at least one of the one or more partially-exposed sensor nodes.
 11. Thesystem of claim 6, wherein the one or more additional sensor nodes ofthe plurality of sensor nodes comprises: at least one of the one or moreunderground sensor nodes and at least one of the one or morepartially-exposed sensor nodes.
 12. The system of claim 1, wherein thecontroller is further configured to transmit one or more signals to atleast one sensor node of the plurality of sensor nodes, the one or moresignals configured to adjust one or more characteristics of the at leastone sensor node.
 13. The system of claim 1, further comprising one ormore operational devices, wherein the controller is further configuredto adjust one or more characteristics of at least one operational devicein response to the data collected by the one or more sensors.
 14. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to:receive data collected by satellite imagery; and display at least aportion of the data associated with at least one of the one or moresub-surface material characteristics supplemented by the data collectedby satellite imagery.
 15. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one ofthe plurality of sensors includes the communication device and at leastone of the one or more sensors in a common housing.
 16. The system ofclaim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of sensors includes thecommunication device in a first housing and at least one of the one ormore sensors in a second housing, wherein the first and second housingsare communicatively coupled with at least one of a wired or wirelessconnection.
 17. The system of claim 1, wherein the material comprises atleast one of soil, grain, concrete, biomass, sand, compost, volumes ofcommodities, liquids, and landfill material.
 18. The system of claim 1,wherein at least one of the one or more sensors comprises anelectroconductivity sensor configured to collect data regarding anelectrical conductivity level of the material.
 19. The system of claim1, wherein at least one of the one or more sensors comprises atemperature sensor configured to collect data regarding a temperature ofthe material.
 20. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more sensorsinclude a first temperature sensor and a second temperature sensor,wherein the first temperature sensor is configured to collect dataregarding a first temperature level of the material at a first depth,and the second temperature sensor is configured to collect dataregarding a second temperature level of the material at a second depthdifferent from the first depth.
 21. The system of claim 1, wherein atleast one of the one or more sensors comprises a moisture sensorconfigured to collect data regarding a moisture level of the material.22. The system of claim 21, wherein the moisture sensor comprises: an LCcircuit an oscillator; and a processor, wherein the processor isconfigured to cause the oscillator to provide a current to the first LCcircuit, wherein the processor is further configured to determine thefirst moisture level of the material located in the first area ofinterest.
 23. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more sensorsinclude a first moisture sensor and a second moisture sensor, whereinthe first moisture sensor is configured to collect data regarding afirst moisture level of the material at a first depth, and the secondmoisture sensor is configured to collect data regarding a secondmoisture level of the material at a second depth different from thefirst depth.
 24. The system of claim 1, wherein the data gateway isconfigured to transmit stored data to the controller via a network. 25.The system of claim 1, wherein the power supply comprises: one or morebatteries; one or more capacitors, wherein the one or more capacitorsare configured to store energy from the one or more batteries, whereinthe one or more capacitors are further configured to provide power tothe communication device.
 26. The system of claim 25, wherein the one ormore capacitors include two or more capacitors, wherein the power supplyfurther comprises: two or more diodes to balance a load between the twoor more capacitors.